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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



William Cogswell 

.Late a Repkesentati\e kkom Massachusetts), 



DKLIVERtD IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE, 



LliS FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS, 18^ J- ) f^l 
First anu Second Sessions. 



PUBLIS)IED BY ORDER OF CONGRESS. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1897. 






AUG 6 iy08 

j)» ot a 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Proceedings in the Hou.se 5 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Moody, of Massacliu.setts 8 

Mr. Catchings, of Mississippi 22 

Mr. W.VLKER, of Ma.ssachnsetts 25 

Mr. Grosvenok, of Ohio 28 

Mr. DoCKERY, of Mi.ssouii 34 

Mr. Henderson, of Iowa 36 

Mr. Morse, of Ma.ssachusetts 39 

Mr. Draper, of Ma.ssachusetts 49 

Mr. Tucker, of Virginia 55 

Mr. Gillett, of Massachusetts 58 

Proceedings in the Senate 62 

Memorial addresses — 

Mr. Ho.\R, of Massachu.setts 66 

Mr. Mills, of Texas , . . . 72 

Mr. Hawley, of Connecticut 77 

Mr. Blanchard, of Louisiana 80 

Mr. G.YLLiNGER, of New Hampshire 82 

Mr. Lodge, of Mas.sachusetts 86 

3 



Death of Hon, William Cogswell. 



Proceedings in the House, 

January i6, 1S96. 

Mr. Moody. Mr. Speaker, as the successor to the seat of 
Gen. William Cogswell it is my painful office to formally 
announce the intelligence of his death in this city on the 
22d day of May of last year. General COGSWELL was a 
member of the Fiftieth, the Fifty-first, the Fifty-second, 
and the Fifty-third Congresses, and was elected, by a 
majority that swept away jDarty lines in his district, to 
membership in this House. I need not call the attention 
of those members who served with him to the fidelity with 
which he always performed every public duty. It is not 
my purpose at this time to enter into any extended eulogy 
of his life and ser\'ices, but at some later day I shall ask 
the House to set apart a time when its membership may 
express formally their appreciation of his life, his character, 
and his services. I content myself now with sending to 
the desk resolutions which I ask the House to adopt in 
honor of his memory. 

The resolutions were read, as follows: 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. William Cogswell, late a Representative 
from the State of Massachusetts. 

5 



6 Proceedings in tlie J louse. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to his niemory the House 
do now adjourn. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resohitions to 
the Senate. 

The resolutions v/ere unanimously adopted; and in jmr- 
siiance thereof the House (at 3 o'clock and 50 niinules j). ni. ) 
adjourned. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 

The Speaker. The time fixed for the .special order has 
arrived. 

Mr. MooDV. Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolutions which I 
send to the Clerk's desk. 

The resolutions were read, as follows : 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended that 
opportunity may be given for tributes to the meniorj- of Hon. WiLLi.^ii 
CoGSWELi,, late a Representative from the State of Massachusetts. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a distinguished 
public servant, the House, at the conclusion of these memorial proceed- 
ings, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be instructed to communicate a copy of these 
resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

7 



Life ami C 'liaractcr of IVilliam Cogswell. 



ADDRESS OF MR. MOODY. 

Mr. IMOODV. Mr. Speaker, hi.s office wlio seeks to con- 
struct ill enduring form a just estimate of the life and char- 
acter of one who has so recently departed from the midst of 
living men that the glance of the eye and the sound of the 
voice seem hardly yet a memory is never easy of accom- 
plishment. He must neither degenerate into mere fulsome 
eulogy which overshoots the mark nor fail in due apprecia- 
tion of the great qualities which deserve commemoration. 
The difficulties and dangers of the duty, always sufficiently 
manifest, are multiplied in the case of the man whose 
memory we honor to-day. 

William Cogswell was the most modest of men. He 
was impatient of eulogy. If we could respect his wishes, 
if we could accept his own estimate of himself, we should 
be silent at this hour. But that can not be. His life, so 
full of splendid achievement, demands a higher measure of 
praise than he would willingly receive. 

I know how poor are the words which I shall speak. At 
the most, I can expect to recite his history only in meager 
outline, leaving it to the loving touch of others to delineate 
the beauty of its detail. 

There can be no complete knowledge of an individual 
unless we know of what manner of men he was born. 
WiLLiA.M Cogswell owed much to his ancestr>-. They 
were of English origin. He was descended from John 
Cogswell, who appears to have been a man of substance 
and position in Westbury Leigh, count)' of Wilts, where he 



Address of Mr. Moody. 9 

owned and managed a woolen mill which had been in the 
family for many generations. When about 43 years of age 
he sailed from Bristol, with his wife and eight children, in 
search of a new home across the Atlantic. The voyage 
began on June 4, 1635, in the ship Aiigti Gabriel, and 
ended in shipwreck on the inhospitable shores of Maine in 
the great storm of August 15 of that \ear. The Cogswells 
were among the saved, and with little delay the family 
proceeded to Ipswich, in what is now the county of Essex, 
in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and settled in that 
part of Ipswich which subsequently became the town of 
Essex. 

The Cogswells were always leaders in the comniunit}' in 
which the\- dwelt. In the fifth generation of the family 
eight brothers served in the Continental Army in the war 
of the Revolution, their aggregate tenn of service being 
thirty-eight years. One of the brothers, the grandfather of 
William Cogswell, entered the Army as a private at the 
age of 15 years, subsequently became surgeon's mate, sur- 
geon, and chief medical officer of the Army, from which 
position he resigned in 1785. 

William Cogswell, seventh in descent from John Cogs- 
well, was born at Bradford, Mass., August zt,, 1838, of the 
marriage of George Cogswell and Abigail Parker. His 
father, George Cogswell, is a surgeon of extended practice 
and great reputation, and through a long and busy life has 
held many important public and private offices. He was 
one of the founders of the Republican party in Massachu- 
setts, and was a delegate in the convention which nomi- 
nated Abraham Lincoln in i860. He is now, at the age of 
88, living at his home in Bradford,, with mental powers 



lO Life and Charnctcr of William Cogs'a'cll. 

unimpaired by the passage of time, serenely awaitin<^ the 
summons which in the order of nature can not be man}' 
years delayed. Young Cogswell's mother died when he 
was about 7 years of age. 

He recei\-ed his early education at Atkinson Academy, 
.\tkinson, X. H., and Philips .\cademy, .Vndover, Mass., 
and at Kimball's Union Academy, Meriden, N. H. One 
of his instructors at Atkinson writes of him: 

He was a bright boy, decided and independent in his opin- 
ions, but always pleasant and gentlemanly in their expression, 
so that he did not offend those with whom he differed. 

Gentlemen on the other side of this ChambL-r can best 
testily how far in this respect the boy was the father of the 
man. Entering Dartmouth College in 1855, he remained 
there only a short time, and in 1856 and 1857 made the 
voyage around the world as a sailor before the mast. l'])on 
his return he began the stud\' of law at the Harvard Law 
School, and on September 8, i860, was admitted to practice 
as a member of the Essex bar. 

But Cogswell was not destined for a career at the bar. 
His life came to be so full of great events that lu) room was 
left for the wear\ing diligence and exclusive dexotion which 
alone command success in the legal profession, h'or a time 
he remained in the office of William D. Northend, an emi- 
nent member of the Essex bar, and in April, 1861, he ven- 
tured to open an office for himself at Salem. \\'e can well 
understand how little, in those exciting days, his mind and 
heart responded to the dreary exactions of the beginnings 
of a professional career. He had enlisted as a private in 
the Second Corps of Cadets, a militia organization of the 
State, and during the winter of i86o-6i was enthusiastic in 



Address of Mr. Moody. ii 

the performance of liis military duties. Governor Andrew 
believed war to be inevitable, and had sought to ascertain 
from the various militia organizations in the State how 
manv men, if called upon for dut\', would respond. When 
the roll of the cadets was called, WiLLiA.M COGSWELL was 
one of the first to answer that he was ready when the time 
should come. Throughout that winter his voice was heard 
at various public meetings in support of the Constitution, 
the laws, and the integrity of his country. 

I fanc\- that up to the igtli of .\pril, 1861, few clients 
had found their wa\' to the young lawyer's office. At about 
I o'clock in the afternoon of that day news came to Salem 
which changed his whole career. The Sixth Massachusetts 
had been attacked in the streets of Baltimore on its march 
to the defense of the capital, which it was destined to reach 
as the first armed body of volunteers. Law books, clients, 
and the hope of clients were all thrown aside, and the law 
office became the recruiting station, where in twenty-four 
hours a full company was raised for the war. It is worthy 
of notice that this was the first compau}' in the country 
which was recruited for the war. This company, with Cap- 
tain Cogswell in command, became Company C of the 
Second Massachusetts Infantr>- \'olunteers, which was under 
the command of Col. George H. Gordon, a graduate of West 
Point. On the 25th of May ]Mr. CoGSWELL was mustered 
into the service of the United States as captain, to serve 
three }ears, and on the 12th of Juh- the regiment crossed 
the Potomac and stepped upon the soil which was to receive 
so much of its precious blood. By the side of the national 
flag was borne the emblem of the Commonwealth of i\Ias- 
sachusetts, but upon its folds were the words, then, always, 



12 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 

and forever dear lo Massachusetts hearts, "We carry the 
flag and keep step to the music of the Uuiou." 

!\Ir. Cogswell commanded this regiment longer than 
any other man. How closely it was connected with his 
military career we can judge from the words of General 
Hooker, who, when recommending him for promotion, 
wrote : 

He has commanded the regiment with distinction in and out 
of battle for more than two years. Colonels make regiments, 
and his, as is well known to two armies, has no superior. 

Mr. Speaker, you will forgive a son of Massachusetts if 
for one moment, yielding to a just pride, he dwells upon 
this regiment, which in its membership, its achievements, 
and its sufferings represents so much of all that is dear to 
that ancient State. Its commander, born on our soil, edu- 
cated at West Point, a veteran of the Mexican war, was 
destined to win new laurels and retire with the rank of 
brevet major-general. Its lieutenant-colonel, educated at 
West Point, retired with the rank of brevet major-general. 
Of its officers, 35 were graduates of colleges, and many more 
interrupted their higher education to enter the service, and 
24 were killed in battle or died in the hospital of wounds 
or disease contracted in the line of duty. The valor and 
devotion of the enlisted men were abundantly manifest 
upon many fields. At Cedar Mountain the loss was 35 
per cent; at Antietam, 25 per cent; at Chancellorsville, 
33 per cent of those in action, and at Gettysburg 44 men 
out of every 100 who went into the battle were killed or 
wounded. In the war 843 men were killed, wounded, and 
disabled in action or by accident or disease. Well may 
the men of this regiment take to themselves the words that 



Address of Mr. Mood v. 13 

were spoken b\- the side of the niomnnent of Robert G. 
Shaw, who entered tlie service with them as an officer: 

All, when the fi.tjlit is won. 
Dear Land, whom triflers now make bold to scorn 
(Thee! from whose forehead Earth awaits her morn), 

How nobler shall the sun 
Flame in th\' sky, how braver breathe thy air, 
That thou bredst children who for thee could dare 

And die as thine have done ! 

Although the limitations of this occasion prohibit a 
description in detail of General Cogswell's military serv- 
ices, a sketch of them can by no means be omitted. In 
the latter part of 1861 and the early part of 1862 he was 
under Banks's command. In March, 1862, when Banks 
was driven out of the Shenandoah Valley and across the 
Potomac at Williamsburg, the Second Massachusetts was 
the rear guard which, by its dogged persistence, resisted 
the approach of the victorious troops of Jackson. At 
Cedar ]\Iountain and at Antietam the regiment was hotly 
engaged, and in the latter battle Captain Cogswell received 
a sliglit wound. On September 25, 1862, he was detailed 
as acting major of the regiment and mustered in as lieu- 
tenant-colonel October 23, 1862. On the second day of the 
battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863, Colonel Cogswell 
received a severe wound in the left arm, from the effects 
of which he always suffered. Under his command the 
regiment fought on this battlefield until it was without 
ammunition of its own, and then continued the contest 
with ammunition gathered from the cartridge boxes of 
the wounded and dead of the retreating enemy, until this 
ammunition in its turn was exhausted. On June 25, 
1863, when 24 years of age, he was mustered in as col- 
onel of the regiment. By reason of the wound whicli he 



i6 Life and Character of II 'illiaui Cogswell. 

the fields of the many where we had engaged in battle when we 
besieged the city. 

I came back to see a typical American city, built ujion the 
ruins and the ravages of war, in a contest in which its defenders 
had been defeated, and I was proud to see it capable so soon of 
renewing its old American .spirit and putting it.self in the front, 
where the noble and enterpri.sing citizens of Atlanta have put 
that beautiful "Gate City" of the South. 

Mr. Speaker, when the proposition came before nie as a 
member of the Committee on Appropriations whether in this 
enterpri.se, which contains all of the elements of sticce.ss, we 
.should take a part and have the Government exhibits displayed 
and help along the great exposition, I .said to that people, " If 
I stand alone there is one voice and one vote that will give 
Atlanta any reasonable assistance from the General Govern- 
ment." And so, all hail to her in her grand and what I believe 
will be successful exposition ! 

No man in the Union could have spoken more effectively 
for Atlanta's cause. No one more fittingly could carry 
from his comrades in arms and the people of his State 
their message of peace and good will to the new South 
than the man who, within its limits, had wrought ruin by 
fire and sword. 

After the destruction of ..Vtlanta, Colonel Cog.swku. was 
with Sherman on the n;arch to Savannah, and in the opera- 
tions about that city was promoted upon the battlefield and 
assigned to the comijiand of a Ijrigade. His brevet as 
brigadier-general dated from December 12, 1864, and on 
Januar\- 12, 1865, he was assigned b\' the President to the 
command of the Third Brigade of the Third Division, 
Twentieth Army Corps, and continued in conmiand until 
June 13, 1865, when the corps was discontinued. 

At the battle of Avery.sboro, in April, 1865, ]\Ir. COGS- 
WELL was again wounded, but not so severely as to keep 



Address of Mr. Moody. 17 

him from duty, for two days later we find him engaged 
upon a field where, according to the official report, upon 
the morning after the engagement three distinct rows of 
the enemy's dead were in the rear of his brigade. Here, 
too, he received a slight wound from a piece of shell. 

At the close of the war, on July 24, 1865, he was mus- 
tered out and honorably discharged, after four years and 
three months of service, and at the age of 26 years returned 
to the practice of law. 

I can not trust m>-self to speak of these years of splendid 
service. He who has not "shared the incommunicable 
experience of war" has neither the capacity nor the right 
to describe it. I trust I may be pardoned if, failing in 
my own, I borrow the words of a gallant soldier who in 
civil life has adorned an illustrious name. Mr. Justice 
Oliver Wendell Holmes, speaking on Memorial I)a>- to the 
students of Harvard College, said: 

Most men who know battle know the cynic force with which 
the thoughts of common sense will assail them in times of 
stress, but they know that in their greatest moments faith has 
trampled tho.se thoughts underfoot. If you have been in line, 
suppose on Tremont Street Mall, ordered .simply to wait and to 
do nothing, and have watched the enemy bring their guns to 
bear upon you down a gentle slope like that from Beacon street, 
have seen the puff of the firing, have felt the burst of the 
spherical-case shot as it came toward you, have heard and .seen 
the .shrieking fragments go tearing through your company, and 
have known that the next or the next shot carries your fate; if 
you have advanced in line and have .seen ahead of you the spot 
which you must pass where the rifle bullets are striking; if you 
have ridden by night at a walk toward the lilue line of fire at 
the "Dead Angle" of Spottsylvania, where for twenty-four hours 
the soldiers were fighting on the two sides of an earthwork, 
and in the mornin.<^ the dead and dying lay piled in a row six 
H. Doc. 332 2 



i6 Life and Cliaractcr of William Cogs^vell. 

the fields of the many where we had enga<^ed in battle when we 
besieged the city. 

I came back to see a typical American cit\-, huill upon the 
ruins and the ravages of war, in a contest in which its defenders 
had been defeated, and I was proud to see it capable so soon of 
renewing its old American spirit and putting itself in the front, 
where the noble and enterprising citizens of Atlanta have put 
that beautiful "Gate City" of the South. 

Mr. Speaker, when the propo-sition came before me as a 
member of the Committee on Appropriations whether in this 
enterpri.se, which contains all of the elements of success, we 
should take a part and have the Government exhibits displayed 
and help along the great exposition, I said to that people, " If 
I stand alone there is one \-oice and one vote that will give 
Atlanta any reasonable assistance from the General Govern- 
ment." And so, all hail to her in her grand and what I believe 
will be successful exposition ! 

Neman in the Union could have spoken more eflfectively 
for Atlanta's cause. No one more fittingly could carry 
from his comrades in arms and the people of his State 
their message of peace and good will to the new South 
than the man who, within its limits, had wrought ruin by 
fire and sword. 

After the destruction of ^Atlanta, Colonel Cooswell was 
with Sherman on the inarch to Savannah, and in the opera- 
tions about that city was promoted upon the battlefield and 
assigned to the command of a brigade. His brevet as 
brigadier-general dated from December 12, 1864, and on 
January 12, 1865, he was assigned b\ tlie President to the 
command of tlic Third Brigade of the Third l)i\-ision. 
Twentieth Army Corps, aud continued in command until 
June 13, 1865, when the corps was discontinued. 

;\t the battle of Averysboro, in A})ril, 1865, Mr. Cocs- 
WELL was again wounded, but not so .severely as to keep 



yldcirrss o/Mr. Mood v. 17 

him tVoiii diit\', for two da\s later we find him engaged 
upon a field where, according to the oflticial report, upon 
the morning after the engagement three distinct rows of 
the enemy's dead were in the rear of his brigade. Here, 
too, he received a slight wound from a piece of shell. 

At the close of the war, on July 24, 1865, he was mus- 
tered out and honorabh' discharged, after four years and 
three months of ser\-ice, and at the age of 26 \-ears returned 
to the practice of law. 

I can not trust myself to speak of these years of splendid 
service. He who has not "shared the iucomnnniicable 
experience of war" has neither the capacit}' nor the right 
to describe it. I trust I may be pardoned if, failing in 
ni\- own, I borrow the words of a gallant soldier who in 
civil life has adorned an illustrious name. Mr. Justice 
Oliver Wendell Holmes, speaking on Memorial Day to the 
students of Harvard College, said: 

Most men who know battle know the cynic force with which 
the thoughts of common .sense will assail them in times of 
stress, but they know that in their greate.st moments faith has 
trampled those thoughts underfoot. If you ha\-e been in line, 
suppose on Tremont Street Mall, ordered simply to wait and to 
do nothing, and ha\-e watched the enemy bring their guns to 
bear upon you down a gentle slope like that from Beacon street, 
have .seen the puff of the firing, have felt the burst of the 
spherical-case shot as it came toward you, have heard and seen 
the shrieking fragments go tearing through your company, and 
have known that the next or the next shot carries your fate: if 
yon have advanced in line and have seen ahead of you the spot 
which von must pass where the rifle bullets are striking; if von 
have ridden by night at a walk toward the blue line of fire at 
the "Dead Angle" of vSpottsylvania, where for tweiUy-fonr hours 
the soldiers were fighting on the two sides of an earthwork, 
and in the morning the dead and dying lay piled in a row si.x 
H. Doc. ^^2 2 



i8 Life and Character of ]\'illia»i Cogsicell. 

deep, and as you rode have heard the bullets splashing in the 
mud and earth ahcjut \ou; if you have been on the picket line 
at night in a black and unknown wood, have heard the spat of 
the bullets upon the trees, and as you moved have felt your foot 
slip upon a dead man's body; if you have had a blind, fierce 
gallop against the enemy, with your Ijlood up and a pace that 
left no time for fear: if, in short, as some, I hope many, who 
hear me have known, yon have known the vicissitudes of terror 
and of triumph in war, you know that there is such a thing as 
the faith I spoke of. You know your own weakne.ss and are 
modest, but you know that man has in him that unspeakable 
.somewhat which makes him capable of miracle, able to lift him- 
self by the might of his own soul, unaided, able to face annihi- 
lation for a blind belief. 

The men of my generation can never hope to understand 
the Irutli wliicli these words seek to tell ns. The\- come 
faintly to us like the sound of a distant bugle call, quick- 
ening the pulse with the hope that we might not be found 
wanting in an hour of trial. 

But the generation which is reaping where it has not 
sown, though it know not the agony of the seedtime, can 
measure the abundance of the harvest ; and as one by one, 
with ever-increasing frequency, those who by their valor 
and devotion have united discordant States into a lasting 
Union, sustained b\- the willing loyalt\- of freemen North 
and South alike, fall from the ranks of the li\-ing, upon 
their graves we reverent!}' lay the tribute of our enduring 
gratitude. 

Mr. Cogswell was married on June 20, 1865, to Kmma 
Thorndike Proctor, who died A])ril i, 1877. Of this mar- 
riage there are now li\'ing two children, William and 
Kmma Sil.sby. He married again on December 12, 18S1, 
Eva M. Uavis, who survives him. 



Address of Mr. Moody. 19 

Tlie membership of tliis House for thirty years has dem- 
onstrated liow often the qualities of leadership which were 
developed in the war have led on to promotion in the 
walks of civil life. It was thus in the case of Mr. COGS- 
WKLL. Two years after his retirement from the AnuA' he 
was elected mayor of the city of vSalem, and served three 
years in that office. .Vsjfain, in 1S73 and 1874, he was 
reelected to that position. Five times, in 1870, 1871, 18S1, 
1882, and 18S3, he was elected to membership in the 
Massachusetts house of representatives. In 1876 he was 
appointed inspector-general of fish throughout the State of 
Massachusetts, and held that lucrative office for ten years. 
In 1885 and 1886 he was a member of the State senate of 
Massachusetts. In all of these positions he rendered faithful 
and efFectix'e service. 

In 1886 he was elected from the Essex district of Massa- 
chusetts to membership in the Fiftieth Congress, and later 
reelected to the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, Fifty-third, and 
Fifty-fourth Congresses. The principal committees on 
which he served were those on .\ppropriations. Rivers and 
Harbors, and the District of Columbia. 

In this presence I refrain from dwelling upon his service 
in this Chamber. Those who are to follow me can best do 
that. Rut this much I know and can say: To every duty 
wliich his position imposed upon him he was faithful to the 
end. No duty was so great that he shrank from it; none so 
small that he neglected it. He was neither an orator nor a 
frequent speaker, but he lent to all that he said the weight 
of sincerit\- and truth. Massachusetts has had few Repre- 
sentatives who have wielded a greater influence than his. 
He was respected and loved by his associates. Although he 



20 Life and CJiaracter of IVilliam Cogswell. 

was unswerving in his allegiance to the principles of the 
Republican part\', he never forfeited the confidence and 
respect of gentlemen on the other side of the Chamber. 
While he never forgot the cause to which he had devoted 
the best years of his life upon the Ijattlefield, and jealously 
guarded everv right which he had helped to win, he had no 
more loving friends than his associates here against whom 
lie had so strenuously fought day after day for more tlian 
four vears. With him there was no shadow of \iclding of 
any of the great results of the war; but, saving this, with 
him the war was done wdien lie laid aside his sword in 1865. 

He so conducted himself in his great office as a repre- 
sentatix'eof the people in the Congress of the I'uited States 
that lie grew year after year in the esteem of his constitu- 
ents, so that in the election of 1894 he was returned to the 
Fifty-fourth Congress by a plurality of more than 10,000 
votes. 

I!ut this message of renewed confidence from his people 
fell upon ears dulled by approaching death. The disease 
from whicli Mr. CoG.swELi. had been suffering for many 
months began in the autumn of 1894 to assume an alarming 
aspect. He was able to take little part in the political can- 
vass of that year, and it was not until January that he took 
his seat in the last session of the Fifty-third Congress, iiut 
his work was done. A few days of attendance on the sessions 
of the House ser\-ed but to convince him and his sorrowing 
colleagues of tlie havoc which disea.se had wrouglit in the 
sturd}' frame, and he soon sought to recover health and 
strength under more fa\'oring skies. 

In the Island of Jamaica, cheered by the companionship 
of his loving wife, he seemed at first to gain in vigor; but 



Address of Mr. Moody. 21 

the hope which the teinporar\' improvement aroused in the 
breast of the stricken man soon passed awa}'. Returninfr 
to our shores, slowly he made his way northward tlirough 
(Georgia and Tennessee and North Carolina and Virginia, all 
so full of memories for him. The kindness of the people 
of the South, and especialh' of those of Atlanta, seemed 
like a benediction in those final days. He reached Wash- 
ington, but he could go no farther. Here he lingered until 
the 22d of May, 1S95. Then, surrounded and sustained by 
the love of children and of the woman who had been com- 
panion, friend, and wife alike, he passed into the eternal 
rest. 

When a few days later, in the cit\' of his home, he lay 
waiting the solemn service for the dead, a great throng of 
men and women came to his side for the last farewell. 
They remembered the steadfast friend, the faithful official, 
tlie brave soldier, and for him they mourned. They knew 
that after a lifetime of public service he had died in lionor- 
able po\-ert\', and in that the\- rejoiced. 

Mr. Speaker, the life which has been so lived has not 
been lived in vain, and its lesson will endure from genera- 
tion to generation, a heritage and an inspiration among his 
people. 



22 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. CATCHINGS. 

Mr. Catchixgs. Mr. Speaker, I have never known in all 
my life a man for whom I had greater admiration than I 
had for Mr. Cogswell. During his whole service in Con- 
gress my acquaintance with him was most intimate. 

In the Fiftieth Congress he was assigned to the Com- 
mittee on Ri\ers and Harbors, of which I was myself a 
member. The work of that committee is laborious and 
exacting, and calculated to bring to view both the strong 
and the weak characteristics of its members. It is wholly 
nonpartisan, and embraces the general subject of river and 
harbor improvement throughout the country. Delegations 
of citizens from every section come before it in advocacy 
of the projects in which they are chiefly concerned and to 
explain in general and in detail the character and extent of 
the commercial interests to be .subserved by the improve- 
ments sought by them. No member gave greater atten- 
tion to these demands or sought more diligently to .sift the 
good from the bad and to do what on the whole seemed 
best and wi.sest for the general welfare. It mattered not to 
him from what section these demands came. He was a 
national man in the broadest sen.se, and all that he cared 
to learn was whether or not they were worthy and, if 
allowed, would contribute to the general advancement and 
prosperity of tlie American people. It was a great pleasure 
to him to listen to the recital of the facts furnished by the.se 
delegations which gave evidence of the marvelous growth 
of our country and its future possibilities. 

I was soon impressed by his usefulness anil his jnire and 
I^atriotic instincts, and we .speedily grew to be warm and 



Address of Mr. Catchings. 23 

devoted friends. He was a man of extraordinary natural 
ability, and his information on all subjects was extensive 
and accurate. 

The work of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors, 
while useful and interesting in the highest degree, is so 
exacting and confining that its members are largely pre- 
cluded from general participation in the work of Congress 
and for that reason from manifesting their capabilities. I 
met him on the streets of this city one night shortly before 
the organization of the Fifty-first Congress, which was to 
be controlled by his party, and asked him what committee 
assignment he contemplated seeking. He replied that he 
supposed he would go back on the Committee on Rivers 
and Harbors. I said to him that his abilities and character 
entitled him to a position which would enable him to take 
a leading part in shaping legislative policies, and that he 
would do himself great injustice to again bind himself to 
the exacting labors of that committee, which he could 
leave without sacrificing any of the local interests of his 
State. His modesty was so great that I am quite sure he 
was somewhat startled when I urged him to apply for a 
place on the great and powerful Committee on Appropria- 
tions, but he finally consented to do so. He secured the 
transfer, and we all know how full\- he at once measured 
up to his increased responsibilities and forged to the front 
as one of the boldest, most attractive, and most trusted 
leaders of the House. 

No man rejoiced more than myself over the superb 
manner in which he bore his new honors, or the brilliant 
success which marked his career from that time until his 
death. Democrats and Republicans vied with each other 
in manifesting for him the most profound respect and 



24 Life and Character of M'illiavi Cogszce/l. 

affectionate regard. I remcHiber when the committees 
were being framed in tlie Fifty-second Congress Speaker 
Crisp asked me to ascertain what assignments Mr. COGS- 
WELL wished, saying that his abilities and high character 
•entitled him to anything that he wanted. 

He was a strong and nnswerv'ing partisan, as he had the 
right to be, but with it all he was so manly, so fair, so 
honest, so brave, and so strong that he commanded the 
nnqnalified admiration of all. But I prefer to remember 
him as I knew him in the companionship of private life. 
Scarcely a day passed that he and I did not contrive in 
some way to get together and abandon ourselves to the 
pleasures of friendly intercourse. How I enjoyed these 
occasions I can not describe. His thoughts were so elevated 
and pure, his manners so gentle and refined, and his infor- 
mation so varied and rich that it was not onl\- profitable 
but ennobling to be with him. If he had any faults of 
character I never discovered them. To me he was always 
a wise, noble, and virtuous man, a winsome, knightly gen- 
tleman, and a delightful companion. 

The country never had a more ardent defender nor the 
people a truer friend or more devoted public servant. Had 
he lived he would surely have grown in power, and that 
power would as surely have been used for the public good 
as he saw and understood it. 

When the sad tidings of his death reached mc in ni\- dis- 
tant vSouthern home I grieved as sincerely and truly as 
though he had been flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone. 
No recompense can be made to liis bereaved family for his 
untimely loss, but it should be some consolation to them 
to know that he was universally honored and beloved and 
that his friends mourn with them sincerely and deeply. 



Address of Mr. Jl'al/ccr. 25 



Address of Mr. Walker. 

Mr. Walker. ^Ir. Speaker, Mr. Willi.\.m Cogswei.i.'.s 
name will alwav.s be lield in hiorhest honor in this House, 
in his town, in his Congressional district, in the State of 
Massachnsetts, and in the whole country. 

I had known of hiui for many years, but the first time I 
met him was upon the assembling- of the Fift^■-first Con- 
gress, in December, 1889. 

I ne\-er shall forget the meetings of the Massachusetts 
delegation to take account of our duties to [Massachusetts 
as a delegation. Congressman Rockwell presided, and Mr. 
Cogswell took the lead in discussing the various plans 
whereb\' each member could best serve our beloved State. 
In this he pecnliarh- revealed himself Plight of us were 
new members. There, as e\erywhere, he knew no political 
parties when tiie interests of Massachusetts were at stake. 
The two Democrats in the delegation were as fully con- 
sidered as Republicans and secured some of the very best 
a.ssignments. 

His strength of character and skill in making the dele- 
gation felt in the House as a solid force for Massachusetts 
was exceptional. While always a thorough Republican, 
he knew no party in the House when party politics was not 
forced upon him. 

Like the noble soldier that he was, errors in war or peace, 
long ago forgiven by him and the country, were buried in 
oblivion. Indiscretions in bringing old errors and differ- 
ences of speech and conduct into prominence to revive 
bitter memories by any member of the House never angered 



26 Life and Character of William Cogsivell. 

or provoked repl)' from lliis noble patriot. His f^reat heart 
passed them by in noble sorrow that small minds could not 
let the dead past lie quietly in its grave in the interest of 
a harmonious and patriotic living present. 

His sense of honor and love of justice was keen above 
that of almost any man I ever knew. He was always 
exceedingly watchful for the interests and reputation of 
every one of his colleagues. He would be at any pains to 
protect any one of them from being misunderstood, or to 
.see that credit was bestowed where justly due. 

He was in every fiber an honest man. In fact, his high 
sense of honor, ever prompting him to conscientious dis- 
charge of the burdensome duties of the high places 
assigned him in this House, very perceptibly shortened 
his life. 

There has not been a single man in any of the many 
Congresses in which he .served who was not proud to count 
Mr. CoGSWEi.i. or did not feel that he was among his 
friends. Where so much depends upon the personal good 
will of one's colleagues in securing legislation desired, no 
man in Congress was any more successful than I\Ir. 
CoGSWKiJ.. His lovable qualities, added to his acknowl- 
edged ability, made him peculiarly successful. 

His death was to me a very great personal sorrow and 
official loss. I feel shorn of half my ])ower and influence 
in his absence from the halls of legislation. His sym- 
l)ath\' with his associates, whicli led him alwa\s to put the 
better rather than the w'orsc construction upon words and 
conduct, his disinterested advice and assistance, seemed to 
double the influence of each one of us. Ma.ssachusetts 
sadl\- misses him from the halls of lei-islation. 



Address of Mr. JfaZ/ccr. 27 

All of Its who had the great felicity of being counted 
among his dear friends mourn him with the sincerest sor- 
row. The district, the State, as well as the whole country 
he so faithfully served, hold his memory as a rich inherit- 
ance for their children. 



28 Lijc and C Iiaractcr of II 'illiaui Cogsiccll. 



Address of Mr. Grosvenor. 

Mr. Grosvenor. Mr. vSpeaker, so far as word.'; of mine 
are concerned, I niij^ht as well rest this memorial service 
upon the e.xceedin<jly beautiful address which has just been 
made in our presence by the successor of the distinguished 
gentleman whose life we honor and whose death we mourn. 
Seldom have I heard in this House so beautiful a tribute, 
and seldom ha\e I listened to an address of this character 
that has brought back to my mind so distinctly the great 
characteristics of the dead. 

I did not know Mr. CoG.swELL during the war, although 
he came in the height of his career to the army of which I 
was an humble member. He came by transfer of his reg- 
iment from the Eastern to the Western army. He came 
with a IVIassachusetts regiment and in a corps of the army 
that had done great service in the battles in \'irginia. He 
came when his training and discipline and fitness for a 
soldier's life had become thoroughly and wonderfully 
develoiK-d, considering the youth of the man. He came 
with a grand di\-ision of the army, which was at once 
met by the jealousies and criticisms that the Western and 
Southern armies always had for the .^rmy of the Potomac. 
lUit the troops to which he belonged very shortly made and 
established their jiosition among the men of the .Vrnu- of 
the Cuml)erland, and during the great campaign of -Atlanta, 
as we have termed it, they ver)- successful 1\- competed with 
the best of the Western troops for that standing which ulti- 
matel)- made them one of the best corps of Sherman's army, 



Aiiiircss of Mr. Grosvcnor. 29 

a corps that ultimately aided in the capture of Atlanta and 
marched with Sherman to the sea. 

Joining in that great campaign as they did, three great 
armies of the Union, they were in a condition which de- 
manded competition if they would achieve excellence. 
Thev were surrounded b\- competitors in achievements 
such as no other troops of the Union Army at any period 
in the war ever encountered. There came to us of the 
Armv of the Cumberland after the battle of Chickamanga 
that splendid army, tried as by fire, the Army of the Ten- 
nessee, than which no better army of soldiers ever marched 
to the music of the great American Union. Disciplined in 
campaign, great in maneuver, hardened by exposure, and 
tried by fire, this subdivision of the Army of tlie Potomac 
joined with us and the Arm\- of the Tennessee in the great 
campaign which immortalized the leaders and placed a halo 
which has never perished around the names of the great 
commanders of those three armies. 

Something of the standing which Mr. Cogswell had in 
that splendid arm\- with which he came to the South I 
heard of by accident. I did not know him at the time. I 
was on the staff of a brigade commander, and at the point 
in till' movement which we designated as Buzzards Roost 
(jap — I do not know what the name was upon the other 
side — I was sent with an order, or with a communication, 
to be delivered to General Hooker. I did not know what 
that communication was, but I rode uji to General Hooker, 
who was at that time in conference with General Sherman, 
and deli\'ered the paper to him. He opened it and read it, 
and I heard him say, " If I were to obey that order liter- 
ally, I would send Cogswell." And then he said, "I 



30 I.ifc and Character of William Cogsu'cll. 

am directed to send the best regimental commander I 
have." I did not know 'Mr. CoGSWEi.i, at the time, but 
I learned afterwards all about him, and know that that 
was a historical fact. 

T might say in this connection that Hooker did not send 
him u])on the detached service, undertaking to discrimi- 
nate in his own favor by retaining Mr. COGSWELL at the 
head of his command. His career as a soldier is best 
tested bv the progress of his promotions. He entered the 
Army at the age of 23, without military experience, and 
inside of four years he was a brigadier-general by brevet 
and in command of a brigade of the great Army to which 
he belonged. In the beginning of our war many men rose 
to distinction b\- the mere election to a company or regi- 
ment, but the man who started as a captain in a great army 
and then rose in later years to be a colonel and brigadier- 
general had something in him outside of the common and 
average capacity and fitness of the men of that time. 

After the war I met Mr. Cogswell in this House and 
made his acquaintance when he came as a member of the 
Fiftieth Congress. I met him in service upon the Com- 
mittee on Rivers and Harbors, where he succeeded his 
predecessor, who had represented the district from which 
Mr. CoG.swELL came in .several Congresses. The service 
of Mr. C0G.SWELL upon that committee made his true char- 
acteristics known to me. It is a committee of the House 
most fortunate for a broad-minded, statesmanlike member 
to .serve upon. It is a committee haj^pily very free from 
partisan considerations, and brings out <if the members a 
broad and judicious examination and determination of the 
riofhts and interests of the whole country. No man on 



Address of Mr. Grosvcnor. 31 

that committee commended himself to me in a higher 
degree for his wisdom, fairness, and justice with which he 
studied the wants of tlie whole country than did Mr. 
Cogswell. He criticised with the same acuteness of mind 
and integrity of judgment the claims from his own district 
as he did the claims from the most remote districts of the 
South or West. I think every gentleman upon that com- 
mittee serving at the time will justify this comment upon 
his character, and that was one of tlie fundamental monu- 
ments of his mental make-up. He was wise, just, and 
absolutely impartial. His was a mind that was judicial 
in character, a mind that was fair and just, a mind that 
was wonderfully discriminating and powerful when it was 
applied to anything that came before him. On the floor of 
this House he was a man of great influence. His dis- 
tinguished successor has said that he did not often. speak, 
and I doubt not that was one of the elements of his influ- 
ence. He did not fritter it away by a discussion of every 
question that came up, and herein was one of the points 
of his success. 

When he spoke it was with that fullness of knowledge 
of a subject which alone makes a man capable and powerful 
on this floor. He was never detected in making a mistake 
in a statement of fact. He was never detected in attempt- 
ing to speak upon a question for the jnirpcse of displa\-ing 
either his oratorical powers or his knowledge of a subject. 
He spoke from an earnest purpose to enlighten the House and 
carry conviction to its members, and no man had greater 
influence on this floor than did Mr. CoGSWELL. 

He was true and faithful to every duty he owed to man. 
He was a man of stern faith and confidence in the dut\- and 



32 Life ami Cliartxclcr of \\'illia)>i CogsiccU. 

propriety of great citizenslii]); and in liis ii])riglit manhood 
he was a man of the liighest integrit)-, a man of the strictest 
adherence to honor, a man whose faithfuhiess to friendship 
was only eqnaled by his faithfnlness to dnty. 

Nothing that has happened in my experience here in 
Congress was more jiainfnl forme to witness than the strug- 
gle of r^Ir. Cogswell with that fell destroyer that finally 
conquered when he died. I talked with him on several 
occasions, and he told me that he had been warned that he 
ought to leave, and I tirged him to go. I urged him to go 
to other climes and other atmospheres and seek health and 
restoration, but he said he had come from strong stock and 
felt that he could recover. He did not believe he was going 
to be stricken down. He did not speak of any tmfulfilled 
ambition, tor I never heard him speak of ambition, but then 
and always he spoke of his dut\- to the .State and the coun- 
try. He was not a provincial representati\'e. He never 
spoke about the section of the country- from which he came. 
It was impossible that a man with such a military record as 
his, a man who stood where he had stood, a man who fought 
where he had fought, a man who had associated where he 
had associated, should l)e a ])ri)\incialist. It could not be 
expected that he would be a uainiw-miuded representative 
of a single section of the country, and I never heard him 
put the claims of one section against aiu- other section. 

P)Ut 1 was speaking of his struggle against death: It was 
a fight for life, and whun I saw him coming back from the 
Soutli with death upon him I tried to encourage him. I 
hap])ened to be in the city on the very day he died. I tried 
to encourage him in that way which we are all so much in 
the habit of doing, saying that lie had recovered his looks 



Address of Mr. Grosvcnor. 33 

and his strength. He said, " No, no; the battle is over;" 
and that was all he said. He did not discuss with me any- 
thing about his fears or hopes or an\thiug of that sort, but 
simply said, witli a resignation that astonished me, "No; 
the battle is over. " 

Mr. Speaker, his example was one worth)- of our emula- 
tion. The grand State that he had the honor in part to 
represent on this floor has lost another of her distinguished 
sons. I honor that great Commonwealth, that produces 
such eminent gentlemen on all occasions to take the places 
of her fallen great ones. Webster may fall, Sumner may 
pass away, and Mr. CoG.SWELL may vanish to the other 
shore, and yet there comes and will continue to come from 
Massachusetts, from that old stock of Puritans, ingrafted 
here and commingled with the blood of other nations, great 
men to fill the places of those who have fallen, but they can 
have no greater exhibition of statesmanship and manhood 
and no higher mark of emulation than is found in the life, 
career, and character of WiLLi.-\-M CoGSWELL. 
H. Doc. 332 3 



34 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 



Address by Mr^ dockery. 

Wx. DocKKRV. Mr. S])caker, I reg;rcl that circumstances 
prevent me fmm paving to tlie life and character of the late 
William Cogswell the tribute I would desire to offer. 
But I can not forbear a single observation with respect to 
the high character of his public services and the stainless 
record of his private life. 

My acquaintance with Mr. Cogswell began with the 
Fiftieth Congress, and I served with him upon the Commit- 
tee on Appropriations during a period of six years. I knew 
him intimately as a member of that great committee, but 
was brought perhaps into even closer relations with him as 
a member of the special connnittee appointed to investigate 
the expenditures and conduct of the World's Columbian 
Exposition, whose exacting duties required their presence 
at Chicago for nearly two weeks. ]\Ir. Speaker, I recall in 
passing the oft-repeated opinion of Mr. Cogswell that the 
unanimous finding of this committee contributed very 
much to the success of that most marvelous Exposition of 
all time. 

A very brief time has wrought man}- changes in the rela- 
tions of that committee since their report was submitted to 
Congress in 1892. Of those who composed the committee, 
Breckinridge of Arkansas, courtly, scholarly, and the very 
soul of honor, represents the Rejiublic at the Court of St. 
Petersburg; Compton, genial and capable, is naval officer 
of customs at the ])ort of Baltimore; Henderson, chivalrous, 
able, and jjatriotic, is still an honored Representative of 



Address of Mi: Dockcry. 35 

the great State of Iowa on this floor; while the sleeping 
dnst of iMr. Cogswell rests in the soil of the Common- 
wealth of Massachnsetts. 

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Cogswell was an earnest and con- 
vincing speaker, bnt to me rugged integrity, exalted cour- 
age, and sound judgment seemed to be his most conspicuous 
gifts, and they appeared to greatest advantage in the labors 
of the committee room. And in this arena, too, he was a 
sage in counsel and an unrelenting foe of every unworthy 
scheme and questionable proposition. He was indeed an 
efficient guardian of the people's interests. 

But, Mr. Speaker, I will not enter into the details of his 
long and useful career. I leave to others the privilege of 
properly presenting the brilliant record of Mr. Cogswell 
as a soldier, a legislator, a citizen, and a husband and 
father. He was brave and manh-, bluff, candid, honest, 
tireless and faithful in the discharge of every duty devolved 
upon him: 

The knight's bones are dust, 

And his good sword rust; 

His soul is with the saints, I trust. 



36 Lijc and Characler of William Cogswell. 



Address of Mr. Henderson, 

Mr. Hexdersox. Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest pleas- 
ures, we will all agree, that we have in this public life 
springs from the strong, warm friendships that we form 
among our associates. The saddest experience that we 
have as members of this body is when one is torn from us 
whom we have learned to love. William Cogswell was 
one of my closest friends, the dearest and the most trusted 
that I have ever had during my membership of this House; 
and I share with others who knew him in feeling, deeply 
feeling, the great loss that has come to us. 

What can any of us say to-day about our absent, silent 
friend? We can only feebly summarize some of his lead- 
ing deeds and characteristics — opening, it may be, a page 
here of his life which reveals the lion, and then another 
page giving us some of the sunlight of his warm, rich life. 
Fortunately for him, his life was more eloquent than 
anything that the lips of warmest friend can speak this 
afternoon. 

Did I call liim absent friend? Xo; not absent while one 
remains on earth who ever felt and truly understood the 
charm, the intensity, the warmth, the honest}-, the tender- 
ness of his great soul, his great life. 

So many die and pass away, and the world says "Amen," 
and the fairest critics of their lives have hut little to say in 
their behalf Others come and stay with us and touch our 
lives and fill our souls with tender melodies and then pass 
away into the darkness, and questions loom up in our souls 



Address of Mr. Henderson. 37 

which we seem to hurl at the foot of the eternal throne 
demanding an explanation of this breaking up of our loves. 
And so it was with Mr. Cogswell. 

For months he bravel>- and patiently lingered in the cruel 
agonies of sickness, and during that period of uncertainty 
many of us anxiously hoped that the dreaded message of 
the wires, which we knew must come, might in some wax- 
be averted. When at last the cruel, brief, chilling word 
"Dead" came to us, it was almost rebellion that rose tip in 
our souls, and all our religion, all our philosophies, failed 
to keep down the bitter plaint that we sent to the Master. 

Wh>' should he go while yet so young, so fond of life, so 
fond of all that sweetest is in life? The power that issued 
the final edict must have known how many hearts were 
pierced by the dread shaft when Mr. Cogswell died. 

Some men seem made of only one material. We see one 
man made of granite; another is made in softer mold of 
some fine clay; and another rises like some lofty pine until 
heaven's warmest sunlight touches his head. 

Some seem to have their existence only in the garden 
where the fairest flowers are found. Another seems to draw 
his life material from the great, dark sorrows of humanity. 
Then another is made of the melodies that come to us from 
the groves where the muses dwell. 

One heart is made only of stern material, while another 
consists of life's sweetest loves and holiest, tenderest sym- 
pathies. 

When the life of 'Six. COGSWELL comes to be written, it 
will have to be said that he was a composite man. .\11 the 
mighty feelings that surge through great hearts have passed 
tlirough his and left their abiding influence. 



38 Life and CJiaractcr of William Cogswell. 

When heroes were needed, Mr. Cogswell conld easily 
be found. When the tender sympathies of a woman were 
needed, his heart was loaded with tliat sweet necessity of 
life. 

His close companions, those whom he loved, knew him 
to be great in God's holiest, sweetest, and tenderest gifts, 
as well as great in the heart that accomplishes the t^^rand 
achievements of life. 

He had a soul fitted to reprove the wicked. He had au 
arm potential against the oppressor. He had a heart daunt- 
less in the face of danger, ever quick to respond when duty 
called him to action. The tear of a suffering child, the 
sigh of an unfortunate woman, and the pitiful look of the 
debased, all found sympathy in his great soul. 

If he had sins — and who has not? — "they leaned to 
virtue's side." 

We have lost in his death one with every sweet element 
of the dearest relationships of life. The truest orations 
that will be delivered to the memory of Mr. Cogswell 
will only be heard by the angels as they are delivered in 
the aching hearts that loved him best. 



Address of Mr. Aforse. 39 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Morse. 

Mr. MoR.SK. Mr. Speaker, an effort has been made at pre- 
vious Congresses of which I ha\-e been a member to abolish 
these memorial services in honor of our deceased members. 

I trust that proposition will never prevail, and that the 
time-honored custom in which we are now engaged will 
continue. Surely it is good tt) suspend our labor for a brief 
season, when one of our members is called away, and recite 
his virtues, recount his service to his countr}', that others 
ma)- be incited to patriotism and high and noble endeavor. 
I say it is good, I\Ir. Speaker, to suspend our busy work 
here for a brief hour on such an occasion as this and ponder 
upon the solemn fact that we, too, are mortal; that we have 
here no continuing city, and that sooner or later our work, 
too, will be done. And I am sure, in this connection, that 
it is pleasant to reflect that should we be called hence dur- 
ing our term of office our fellow-members would gather in 
this Hall and recall our memory and speak kindly of us. 

I think Shakespeare spoke ironically when he said: 

The evil that men do lives after them : the good is oft interred 
with their bones. 

I think it is exact!)- the other way, and it is well that it 
should be. 

We love to recount the worthy deeds and noble actions 
and the good there is in the lives of those who have fallen 
asleep. My acquaintance with William Cogswell began 
more than a decade ago, when we were both elected mem- 
bers of the Ma.ssachusetts State .senate; he from Esse.K 
County, I fronr Norfolk Count)-. 



40 Life and Character of JVi/liam Cogswell. 

I learned to esteem liiui there, not only as a faithful serv- 
ant of the State, jealous of every interest of Massachusetts, 
but as a man of generous impulses, with noble tjualities of 
soul and mind. 

What he was in the State legislature of ^lassachusetts he 
was in a much greater and larger degree as a Representative 
of that ancient Commonwealth for eight years on the floor 
of the national House of Representatives. 

I need not tell any of the older members here who served 
with him of his untiring industry, of his zeal in the dis- 
charge of his public duties upon the important committees 
to which he was assigned by Speaker Carlisle, Speaker Reed, 
and Speaker Crisp. 

I need not tell any of his comrades, soldiers of the Union 
Army, how he loved them, how he was instant in season 
and out of season, willing and anxious to do everything to 
promote their welfare and to extend to them a heljDing hand 
and the bounty of the Government, when they needed it, 
which they heljjed to save. 

He was proud of the Commonvv'ealth which honored him, 
and the Commonwealth was proud of Mr. CoG.SWELL; and 
I do not think I am extravagant when I say in this presence 
and on this occasion, the bra\'e man wore himself out in 
her service. 

He struggled bravely and nianfulh- with the disease that 
was gnawing at his vitals. Whenever I met him beseemed 
cheerful and hopeful, and longed for the day when he could 
return to duty and the service of the dear old Common- 
wealth that he loved. 

As a specimen of his gencrosit\' and magnanimity and the 
big soul that was within him, let me recite an incident. 



Address of Mr. Morse. 41 

When the appropriation for the \\'orld's Fair was under 
consideration, I was strongly opposed to opening that 
exposition on the Lord's day. 

The General, for reasons known to himself, took the 
opposite view, and thought that the best way to take care 
of the thronging thousands who were to attend the exposi- 
tion was to let such attend on the Lord's day as wished to. 

When the matter was under consideration in this House, I 
was confined to my bed by illness and was unable to deliver 
a speech which I had prepared. I telegraphed to Mr. Cogs- 
well to ask perinission to print my speech in the Record. 

At great personal inconvenience to himself he procured 
such permission, knowing m\- views to be entirely and 
utterly opposed to his own. 

On another occasion a sick and wounded soldier came to 
this cit)- from my district to seek my assistance at the Pen- 
sion Bureau. He found me absent in consequence of illness. 
Mr. Cogswell took the man, a humble man, only a private 
in the Army, and went with him to the Pension Bureau and 
procured for him the information which he desired to 
expedite his claim. 

These little incidents, perhaps trifling in themselves, show 
the large heart that was in this man. As straws tell which 
way the wind blows, so the little events of life go to make 
up character. 

Did you ever think what the righteous are finally com- 
mended for in that awful day when they come to stand 
before the Judge of all the earth to give an account for the 
deeds done in the body? 

It is not for great deeds — founding an orphan asylum or 
a scholarship in a college, or endowing a school — great 
deeds printed in the newspapers and heralded abroad. 



42 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 

Oh, no; what does the Judo;e say? 

"I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and 
ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 

Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I 
was in prison, and ye came unto me." 

Then shall the righteous answer, "When saw we thee a 
hungered, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked, 
and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in jjiison, 
and came unto thee?" Then shall the Judge sa}*: 

' ' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these 
my brethren, j-e have done it unto me." 

Mr. Cogswell's funeral was one of the most notable and 
remarkable ever held in Massachusetts. When the funeral 
escort composed of his fellow-members reached his home, 
in the old city of Salem, they fotind the city draped in 
mourning, and the tolling bells told the grief and sorrow of 
her citizens over the death of the great man who had fallen. 

His funeral was attended by the governor, lieutenant- 
governor, senators, members of the executive council, 
members of the legislature, judges of the court, and the 
highest officers of the Commonwealth. 

He died in this capital city, where such a man would wish 
to die; he died in the cai)ital of the nation, where for eight 
years he had stood as a Representative from Massachusetts. 

Like the ancient gladiator, hedied on his shield; he sleeps 
bravely and well, and the old Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts will revere and honor his memory until the latest time. 

The streets of the cit\- of vSalem were thronged Ijy thou- 
sands on the occasion of his funeral, not only the inhabit- 
ants of that city, but by his constituents from every jaart of 
the district he had the honor to represent. 



Address of Mr. Morse. 43 

There was general sorrow, inouniing, and grief among 
all classes of people in Massachusetts, for in his death his 
constituents lost an able Representative, the Common- 
wealth of ^Massachusetts lost one of her first citizens, and I 
have lost a friend. 

The following clippings from several of the newspapers 
of my State give evidence of the sorrow of Massachusetts 
o\-er the untimely death of Mr. CoG.swEi.L: 

[l-ruin the Salem Gazette] 

From first to last he was the embodiment of integrity, no 
smirch of dishonor ever attaching to his name. 

[From the Nashua Telea:raph.] 

His place will not be easily filled. 

[Kroni the Haverhill Gazette.] 

Since his election General Cogswell has been faithful to 
every trust, great or small, reposed in him !)>• his constituents. 

[From the New Betlford Journal.] 

General Cogswell's story is soniethin.a: for the rising gen- 
eration to study. 

[From the Lewiston Journal.] 

His death is a serious public loss. 

[From the Worcester c.azctte.] 

General Cogswell was courteous and affable, a man who 
made and kept friends. 

[From the Clinton Item.] 

He was one of the ablest of the Massachusetts Congressional 
delegation. 

[From the Lawrence .\:nerican-] 

An exceptional career of usefulness to city. State, and nation 
is that just closed by the death of Representative Cogswell. 

[From the Haverhill IJulletin.] 

He was a noble son of old Essex County, but his love of 
country .spurned all boundary lines, and the broad scope of his 
mind gave him a deep interest in the interests of all sections. 



44 Life and Character of William Cogsivell. 

[From the Lowell \'ox ropuli.] 

In the death of General Cogswell Maasachusetts loses a dis- 
tinguished son and the Sixth district an able Representative in 
Congress. 

[From the Springfield Republican.] 

The tributes to General Cogswell will help make clear to 
Massachusetts people how strong a hold on the confidence of 
men in public life he had earned by faithful work in \Va.sliington. 

[i-rom the Lowell Citizen.] 

General Cogswell merited well of his countrymen. 

[Frnni the I.ynn ItLiii] 

General Cogswell was- an example in patrioti.sm for the 
ycning of the countn,'. 

[From the Urockton Times.] 

Massachusetts will long honor the memory of Willlvm Cogs- 
well, of Salem. The State has had among its brave soldiers 
and faithful public servants few men who have commanded such 
universal esteem as he. 

[From the Lawrence .\meric.in.] 

An exceptional career of usefulness to city, State, and nation 
is that just closed by the death of Representative Cogswell. 

[From the New JJedford Standard.] 

By the death of Congressman Cogswell Massachusetts loses 
a Representative who always honored his State. He was an 
earnest, true, manl\- man. of whom the Commonwealth was 
proud. 

[l-roni the Clinton Item.] 

Gen. William Cogswell was one of the ablest of the Massa- 
chu.setts Congressional delegation ; his war record as colonel of 
the Second Massachusetts Regiment was excellent, and during 
his long term of service in the National House he has distin- 
guished himself and his district. 

[I-roni the Newlmryport News.] 

General Cogswell's career as a .soldier and as a statesman 
was an honorable one, and his devotion to the needs of the Sixth 



Address ofMr. Morse. 45 

district, which he represented so well, will long be remembered. 
Eulogies will be spoken o\-er his body, but the best compliment 
that could be paid him was that of his own people, who, without 
regard to party affiliations, recognized his worth and without 
question elected him again and again to his Congressional seat. 

[From the I.owell Times.] 

Gen. William Cogswell, Congressman from the Si.xth 
Essex district, was a gallant soldier, a genial, kind-hearted man. 
and an able Representative. His friends and constituents will 
mourn his death as a personal loss. 

[From the r.owell Citizen.] 

General Cogswell was a brave patriot, a gallant soldier, who 
won his honors on the field of battle and bore them modestly, 
as all genuine men do. If he was a patriot in the field, he was 
no less a patriot in the halls of legislation, and his honorable 
record in the National Congress rounded out that quality which 
in the time of trial gave him distinguished reputation. 

[F'roiii the Springfield I'liion,] 

Massachusetts suffers serious loss in the death of General 
Cogswell. He has been very efficient in public .service, and 
his efficiency was largely due to the kindly personal character- 
istics which made friends for him even among his political 
opponents. He seemed good for a score of years yet, but it is 
probabh- true of him as of thousands of men who fought for 
the Union, that he sacrificed a quarter part of his natural life 
on his country's altar. 

The governor .sends a message to the legislature, as follows: 

Governor Greenhalge, in announcing to the legislature the 
death of General CocswELL, said : 

"William Cogswell, a Representative of the Common- 
wealth in the Congress of the United States, died this morning 
in Washington. Congress is not now in session. 

"A statesman in the active service of the Commonwealth has 
died at his post. I deem it fitting that the legislature of Massa- 
chusetts should appoint a connnittee of their honorable body 



46 Life and Characlcr of William Cogszvell. 

to proceed forthwitli to Washington and escort the cortege on 
the journej- back to the former home of your Representative in 
Massachtisetts and do all things suitable and worthy of this 
solemn occasion." 

The legislature of Massachusetts passed the following 
resolutions on the death of Mr. CoGSWELL, on motion of Mr. 
Jordan, of vSalein: 

Resolved, That the legislature of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts receives with profound sorrow and regret the 
sad intelligence, communicated by his excellenc}' the governor, 
of the death in Washington of the Hon. William Cogswell, 
Representative in the National Congress from the Sixth Massa- 
chusetts district. 

Resolved, That in the loss of General Cogswell Massachu- 
setts and the nation have lost one worthy- of every tokeii of 
honor and respect; one whose life was literally spent in the 
.service of his country. As a soldier he manifested a loyal and 
patriotic devotion to country by raising the first volunteer com- 
pany for the late war, and his able, efficient, and continuous 
service throughout the entire conflict resulted in a deserved 
promotion on the field to the rank of brigadier-general. As a 
statesman he reflected great credit upon city. State, and nation, 
and was excelled by none in diligent and effective public ser\-ice 
and in faithful and fearless performance of public duty. He 
possessed unsurpassed sagacity and steadiness of purpose, en- 
ergy, and wisdom, and a mar\-elous strength of character. 
General Cogswell departed this life having won, to a marked 
degree, the confidence, admiration, and affection of his con- 
stituents, and of all who were privileged to have any relations 
with him, together with the esteem of his associates in Con- 
gre.ss. Having devoted his life to duty, death found him 
crowned with the highest honors his district could bestow, with 
a national renown, and possessing the deepest regard of all the 
people. 

Resolved, That in this tribute to Gen. William Cog.swkll, 
the Commonwealth honors the memory of an eminent citizen, 
a brave soldier, and an able .statesman. 



Address of Mr. Morse. 47 

The Republican Club of Massachusetts, a large and in- 
fluential body of citizens of the Commonwealth, unani- 
mously adopted the following resolutions: 

The Republican Club of Massachusetts, in common with all 
lovers of State and country, deeply regrets the death of Gen. 
William Cogswell, and joins in paying to the soldier and 
statesman the heart-felt tribute which his life and his qualities 
demand. 

No party or sectional lines bound the mourning for the 
leader, who has fought his last fight. His whole career, from 
the day when, as a young man, he mustered soldiers in defense 
of his country to the day of his death, is one constant lesson 
in patriotism that will endure and grow with the years to come. 
Everywhere and always he fought for the truth and against the 
lie. His political enemies were his personal friends, his per- 
sonal enemies nowhere to be found. 

He was a national figure that brought honor to Massachu- 
setts. In the high councils of the nation his voice was power- 
ful, his advice sought and followed. In the many circles of 
his life work he will be keenly missed, but especially here in 
his own State, where all knew him as a statesman, soldier, 
friend, and neighbor, the mourning will be most sincere. 

To his wife and family the Republican Club of Ma.ssachusetts, 
through its executive committee, extends its sympathy and 
mourns with them over his death in the height of his usefulness. 
Francis H. Appleton, President. 
Forrest C. Manchester, Secretary. 

When Mr. Cogswell was, with myself, a member of the 
Massachusetts Senate, Stephen N. Gifford, of Duxbury, a 
venerable old man, who had served the Senate for more 
than a generation as its clerk, died. 

He was a venerable man, beloved by everybody, and the 
Senate and House of Representatives voted to attend his 
funeral in a body, and the Senate voted to pronounce 
eulogies upon his memory. 



48 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 

I shall never forget the closing words of ?ilr. Cogswell's 
address, which are, as I remember them, as follows: 

Dear Gifford, we shall see you no more; we shall listen to 
your pleasant greetings no more. Fare you well, Stephen N. 
Gifford, clerk. 

So I say, standing here and now in this great presence, 
in this Hall where his voice was heard, in this seat near 
where he sat. Fare thee well, dear COGSWELL, we shall 
hear your voice no more; we shall hear your pleasant greet- 
ing and feel the grasp of your hand no more; 3'ou have 
crossed the "great divide;" we will little longer wait. 
Fare you well, William Cogswell, a long and last and sad 
farewell. 



Address of Mr. Draper. 49 



Address of Mr. Draper. 

^Ir. Draper. Mr. Speaker, I can not better contribute to 
these services in honor of William Cog-SWELL's memory 
than by reading to the House the story of his military 
record, dictated by himself and confided to me for this pur- 
pose bv Mrs. Cogswell. It bears a touching dedication cal- 
culated to bring tears to the eyes of those who knew him: 

To my dear wife, as a souvenir, this substantially correct 
statement of my military career is dedicated for ' ' her tender 
care and keepinjf and disposal;" 

On the 19th of April, 186 1 , the Massachusetts vSixth was fired 
upon in the streets of Baltimore on its march to the defense of 
the capital. The news reached Salem, Mass., at i o'clock that 
afternoon. William Cogswell, then a young attorney about 
six months in practice and 22 years of age, turned his office 
into a recruiting bureau for a company of volunteers for the war, 
and in twenty-four hours thereafter he had recruited a full com- 
pany of 100 men. 

This was the first company raised in the country for the war. 
In May following it became Company C of Gordon's famous 
Second Massachusetts. As captain of that company Cogswell 
with his company and regiment left Massachusetts shortly after- 
wards and joined General Patterson's command at Martinsburg, 
now in West Virginia. When the Confederate General John- 
ston escaped from Patterson's front and joined Beauregard at 
the first Bull Run, Patterson was retired to Harper's Ferry and 
his connnand turned o\-er to General Banks. 

Here Captain Cogswell, with his own and three other com- 
panies, commanded the outposts of General Banks's command. 
Later in the season, the command having retired to Darnestovvn, 
Md. , the regiment marched to the support of our troops at the 
battle of Balls Bluff. That winter it bivouacked in the field, 
and the following spring made the advance with Banks up the 
H. Doc. 332 4 



50 Life and Character of Jl'iniam Cogswell. 

Shenandoah Valley as far as Harrisonburg, \'a,, when it fell 
back to Strasburg, Ya.. . and here commenced the famous cam- 
paign in which Jackson drove Banks out of the valley and 
across the Potomac at W'illiamsport. 

During the early part of this retreat the Second Massachu- 
setts was the rear guard of Banks's column, and Captain Cogs- 
well's company with another skirmished in retreat from early 
in the afternoon until midnight, when Banks halted at \^'in- 
chester. During the skirmish in retreat with these two com- 
panies several charges of cavalr\- supported by infantry were 
made, but repulsed in every instance. The stout resistance of 
these companies was even mentioned in the Life of Stonewall 
Jackson. 

When the Union command halted at midnight at Winchester 
Captain Cogswell's company, although it had been skirmish- 
ing in retreat since early in the afternoon before, was placed on 
picket in front of our lines, which position he held against 
repeated attacks of the enemy, after daylight next morning, 
until Banks's troops could be thrown together in line, when a 
stubborn fight took place. But before long, Banks's whole line 
being nearly surrounded, it cut its way through, and the follow- 
ing night reached the Potomac at Williamsport. 

Later that season Cogswell with his company and regiment, 
in Banks's command, moved up the valley again, and after- 
wards crossed into the \'alley of \'irginia and took part in the 
battle of Cedar Mountain. Thence came the retreat under 
General Pope, back finally to the lines in and around Wash- 
ington: then to the battle of Antietam, where his company and 
regiment were engaged all day, himself receiving a .slight wound. 

Previous to this Gordon had been made a brigadier, and after 
the battle of Antietam the then Colonel Andrews was pro- 
moted, and Cogswell received his protnotion to be lieutenant- 
colonel of the regiment, which he afterwards commanded as 
lieutenant-colonel and colonel mitil he was promoted on the 
field at Savannah to the command of a brigade and a.ssigned to 
the command of the Third Division of the Twentieth Army 
Corps, which command he held until after the .grand review in 
Washington and his muster out of service in July, 1S65. 



Address of Mr. Draper. 51 

After Antietam Cogswell conducted a night expedition 
across the river into Virginia, capturing a baud of guerrillas 
under the notorious Captain Burk, who was killed in the 
encounter. For this Cogswell received many compliments. 

The following spring he took part in Hooker's campaign at 
Chancellorsville, and at the head of his regiment in that bloody 
and disastrous battle was severely wounded in the left arm, 
which took him from the field, and from the effects of which he 
suffered up to the time of his death. 

While he was in hospital his regiment participated in the 
battle of Gettysburg, where it made a famous record. Soon 
after Gettysburg, with his arm in a sling and his wound not 
yet healed, COGSWELL resumed command of his regiment, 
which remained with the Army of the Potomac until the riots in 
New York. In that emergency his regiment and 19 others 
were selected as the best 20 regiments in the Army of the Poto- 
mac to go back to New York to quell the riot, protect that city, 
and subdue the rebel mob which then seemed to ha\'e possession 
of it. This was a duty which required the utmost coolness 
and caution, and in its execution Cogswell was situated with 
his regiment in Citj- Hall Park, now the site of the present 
post-office building, for the space of two weeks. Comparative 
quiet having been restored, with his regiment Cogswell re- 
joined the Army of the Potomac at the front, where it remained 
until after the battle of Chickamauga, when his corps, the 
Twelfth, and the Eleventh Corps, both under Hooker, were 
transferred to Tennessee and became part of the Arm)- of the 
Cumberland. 

While his division was guarding the line of railroad at the 
battle of Missionary Ridge it was ordered to the front to take 
part in the campaign of Atlanta, Cogswell being actively 
engaged with his regiment at the battle of Resaca, where he 
was mentioned for distinguished conduct. At the battle of 
Peach Tree Creek, in front of Atlanta, Cogswell was division 
officer of the daj'. It was noon, and the Union troops were 
resting en masse in the shade, taking their dinner, totally unpre- 
pared for and not expecting the sudden attack which Hood 
made upon the Union Army at that time. When it began there 



52 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 

was nothing in front of the corps but Cogswell's line of divis- 
ion pickets, but, putting his reserve inunediately upon the Hne, 
he was enabled to check the rebel advance long enough to give 
the Union troops opportunity to deploy in line and prepare to 
meet the assault which almost inunediately followed. 

When the Union lines closed in on the immediate defenses of 
Atlanta, witli his regiment COGSWELL was ordered one morning 
to advance on the picket line and take some rebel earthworks. 
This was successfully done, despite a hot fire, and the rebel 
lines were driven back into their interior fortifications. 

When Sherman made his famous flank movement on the 
right Cogswell's command was retired to the Chattahoochee 
to defend that line. The flank movement resulting in the evacu- 
ation of Atlanta, Cogswell's command moved up into the city, 
and there he was made by General Sherman post commandant 
of Atlanta while the Union troops held the place, from Septem- 
ber 3 to November 17, 1864. This command he held with from 
12,000 to 13,000 troops under him until after the Union Army 
had moved South on its march, and there Cogswell, with his 
provisional command, joined the main body of Sherman's arnn-. 

Continuing on to Savannah he was engaged in front of the 
works there some three days, during which he was sent with 
his regiment to Argyle Island, in the Savannah River, for the 
purpose of cutting off Hardee's retreat ; but that retreat 
had already begun before this expedition was completed, and 
Savannah was evacuated. 

At this point, as has been stated, Colonel Cogswell was pro- 
moted on the field and given a brigade conunand. Crossing into 
South Carohna at the head of his brigade he took part in the 
arduous and difficult campaign through South and North Caro- 
lina, being detailed frequently with liis regiment to meet the 
ever-repeated attacks of the rebel ca\-alry, whicli hovered in 
front of the advance. 

At the battle of Averysboro, in April, 1865, his brigade was 
actively engaged, losing heavily, and in this engagement Cogs- 
well was again .slightly wounded. Two days subsecjuent his 
brigade was detached from its corps and ordered to the Four- 
teenth Corps, to hold a line from which a Union division had 



Address of Mr. Draper. 53 

just beeti driven. This line was not only successfully held, but 
Cogswell advanced his forces, meeting and overcoming three 
successive lines of the enemy. As was said in the words of 
another, ' ' The next morning three distinct windrows of rebel 
dead could be seen in rear of Cogswell's line, which showed 
that it had broken and driven back three distinct lines of the 
enemy." 

In this engagement General Cogswell was knocked over by 
a piece of shell, but was not .seriously injured. With his com- 
mand he marched to Raleigh, where Johnston capitulated to 
Sherman ; thence up through Richmond to the grand review 
at Washington; and, as stated before, in July, 1S65. he was 
mustered out of the ser\-ice. having rendered a continuous 
active sen-ice in the field of four years and three months. 

In addition to this stor}' of the General's own coniposi- 
tion, I will add just a brief statement from a man who 
served in the same command — Gen. Benjamin Harrison, 
ex- President of the United States. Rewrites to Mrs. Cogs- 
well as follows: 

I did esteem him very highly, and we had much delightful 
intercourse. He was a man whose heart was full of loyalt)- and 
courage — an unflinching and gallant soldier in action — a hearty 
and lovable comrade — and a just, kind, clear-headed man. If 
this brief but most sincere tribute can be made use of in any 
way to honor his memory, you are welcome so to use it, and I 
am glad that your letter gives me an opportunity to express my 
appreciation of a noble man. 

Most sincerely, yours Benjamin Harrison. 

It was not my fortune during my military service to have 
been associated with Mr. Cogswell. Soon after the war I 
met him in various military and political channels, and the 
friendship then formed endured to the end. He was bra\-e, 
loyal, a devoted friend, and an honorable aud outspoken 
opponent. 



54 i^'fc n>id Character of William Cogswell. 

At the time nf his death he was one of the most distin- 
guished, if not the most distinguislied, of the remaining 
soldiers who served from Massacluisetts in the civil war. 
His career in jniblic life since the war, both at home and 
here in Congress, was a credit to himself and an honor to 
his State. His associates here, regardless of part}' or sec- 
tion, unite in sorrow for his loss and honor to his memory. 
In the words of Burns: 

He was an honest man: if there is another world he lives in bliss: 
If there is no other %vorld, he made the best of this. 

Before taking my seat I will read a brief letter which I 
have received from my colleague, j\lr. McCall, who would 
have taken part in these memorial services: 

House of Represent.-vtives, 

Washington, D. C, April i8, 1896. 

My De.\r Gener.\l: An imperative engagement out of the 
city will prevent me, much to my regret, from being present on 
Saturday at the consideration of the resolution in honor of our 
former colleague. Gen. \Villi.\m Cogswell. The high degree 
of popularity among members of the House which General 
Cocswell enjoyed was thoroughly desen.'ed. He was able, 
frank, and genial, diligent in the di.scharge of his duty, and his 
death was a loss to the whole country. He had the respect of 
everybody- and the warm affection of his friends, of whom, I 
am glad to .say, I was one. 

Sincerely, S. W. McCall. 

Gen. WiLLi.vji F. Draper, 

House of Representatives. 



Address of Mr. Tucker. 55 



ADDRESS OF MR. TUCKER. 

Mr. Tucker. Mr. vSpeaker, I very much regret that the 
pressure of public business has prevented me from prepar- 
ing something worthy of tliis occasion and our friend who 
is the subject of these memorial ceremonies, but I am left 
to speak from the suggestions of the moment. I came to 
know William Cogswell in the Fifty-first Congress, in 
a Congress full of partisanship and feeling, but from the 
first day I met him I felt that he was a man who could be 
trusted, and a man worthy of all honor. Our friendship 
grew with time, and as I look back over an experience of 
seven years here, the warm friendships which have been 
made in that time and the noble characters with whom I 
have been brought in contact, I hesitate not to say that not 
one of them stands out more prominenth' in memory than 
our deceased friend, ;\Ir. CoGSWELL. 

.\s I think of the memorable speeches which have been 
made in this body since I have been a member of it, I 
recall many that have impressed me with the lawyer's skill 
and the orator's power; but, sir, I recall no speech in that 
time that exhibited the great virtue of patriotism more 
than the one made by 'Sir. Cogswell to which allusion has 
been made. I can never forget the impression made upon 
me by his speech on the Atlanta Exposition. I was op- 
posed to the bill to aid that exposition; I voted against it; 
I doubt not that my honored friend who sits before me 
[Mr. Sayers] voted against it; but the broad, catholic spirit 



56 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 

of that speech and its qeiuiine patriotism won nie for life 
to the man who nttered it. 

Mr. vSpeaker, tliere was another quality of Mr. COGSWELL 
which the honorable (gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Grosvenor] 
has referred to, and which impressed itself upon everybody 
who knew him. There was no narrowness in his composi- 
tion. His political convictions were pronounced and fixed, 
but he did not "play" politics at the expense of his patri- 
otism. A lie, duplicity in any form, could not live in his 
nature. He was the personification of frankness ; and 
manhood, with all that the word imports, was his chief 
characteristic. For of all the qualities with which human 
nature is endowed I believe that one which Mr. Cocswkll 
possessed to a higher extent than any other is the most 
beautiful and the most worthy of emulation. His was 
indeed a manhood symmetrical in all its elements. 

Mr. Speaker, I mourn the death of our friend, for I 
counted him among my friends ; but, as has been well 
.said, his life was not lived in vain. In the great trouble 
in this country which succeeded the civil war Mr. Cogs- 
well, as a prominent factor in that strife, did as much, in 
my humble judgment, as any man who has lived in his 
day to smother the fires of that strife forever ; and surely no 
higher eulogy could be passed upon any man as a patriot 
than to say that he did what he could to bring together the 
distracted elements of our country. 

Mr. Speaker, when the history of the great men of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts is written, the historian 
will find many who were eminent for their powers of 
oratory, or for their legal lore, or distinguished in art and 
in science ; but, believe me, there will be none in the long 



t 

Address of Mr. Tucker. 57 

catalogue of the distinguished meu of that great State to 
whom she can more proudly point as a fit object of the 
emulation of her children in a sturd}' and robust manhood 
than William Cogswell, our friend, gone now forever. 
And since his blood has moistened the soil of old ^'irginia 
in time of war, I have deemed it a mournful pleasure that 
I, as one of her Representatives on this floor, have been 
permitted to bear testimony to his splendid character and 
drop a flower — a tribute of my affection — on his new-made 
grave. 



58 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 



Address of Mr. Gillett. 

Mr. Gillett. Mr. Speaker, at the coiiiinencenieut of the 
last Congress the lotter\- of drawing seats placed me beside 
William Cogswell, and he seemed to take pleasure in 
inducting nie to my new position, instructing me about my 
duties, smoothing the way into pleasant and useful associa- 
tions, and exercising a general sponsorship which was most 
helpful and agreeable at the time and led to an intimacy 
and a gratitude which impels me now to a word of expres- 
sion. I appreciate how adequately he has already been 
portrayed and shall only attempt to summarily characterize 
what to me was most impressive in his personality as I saw 
him here and what I think was the secret of his wide 
influence. It was a quality of frank, direct, courageous 
sincerity which marked all his words and conduct. I do 
not think he was endowed with those shining traits which 
inevitably catch public admiration and rai.se a man above 
his fellows. He was not preeminently Ijrilliant or ])ro- 
found or farseeing or eloquent, but he brought to e\'er\' 
emergency a strong mind guided by a straightforward will, 
and his judgment was never clouded by the politician's 
baneful calculation of personal consequences. He chose 
•what seemed to him right, without afterthouglit, and 
hence his decision was quick and sound and earned respect 
and confidence. 

In social intercourse he won and kept his friends by no 
art or sycophancy, but by a free disclosure of his real per- 
sonality, and you felt here is a true man who does not seek 
to hide his defects beneath a cloak of reserve, and extended 



Addrt'ss of Mr. Gillctt. 59 

acquaintance increased your reliance on liis transparent 
trustworthiness. He was a warm partisan and not without 
prejudices, and I think what quickest kindled his antipathy 
was a professed sanctity, springing not from conviction but 
from hypocritical prudence. Of such assumption he was 
innocent himself and outspoken in his contempt. Indeed, 
I sometimes thought his aversion led him to the other 
extreme, and that in his hatred of hypocrisy he almost 
posed as more lenient to vice than was his nature. Not 
only did he never "assume a virtue if he had it not," but 
virtues which were ingrained in his being he never 
paraded. It was this same quality of unostentatious sin- 
cerity which gave impressiveness to his public utterances 
and influence to his public example. For while a strong 
he was not a brilliant speaker ; he was a clear but not a 
deep thinker, a good but not a learned lawyer, an indus- 
trious but not tireless worker. But from him words, though 
not eloquent, and thoughts, though not striking, bore with 
them the weight of his stalwart personality. His shafts 
were always feathered with honesty and pointed with con- 
viction, and so flew far and penetrated deep. 

I think, too, his slender means added to his great popu- 
larity. While wealth acquired in public office does not 
imply corruption, yet the people are quick to ascribe an 
impregnable honesty to the man who through long service 
continues poor. And there is a certain propriety in this 
conclusion. Albert Gallatin, in 1S18, wrote to Baring 
Bros., in reph- to their tender of a lucrative position : 

I will not accept your obliging offer, because a man who has 
had the direction of the finances of his couutrj' as long as I 
have should not die rich. 



6o Life and Character of William Cogswell. 

And although that showed a sensitiveness far above the 
modern standard, and which perhaps can not be logically 
defended, ^-et it appeals directly to the popular heart. And 
I think some of the warm sympathy and attachment to Mr. 
Cogswell sprang from the fact that public office never 
brought to him private luxury. That he should leave at 
his death an estate less than $500 was accepted as a natural 
and honorable result of a pure and disinterested public 
career. 

His position here was eminent and distinguished, influ- 
ential alike from personal popularity and proved desert. 
Perhaps his associates were unconsciously affected, too, by 
the knowledge that he had been a brilliant soldier; that 
his energ}' and prudence and dauntless courage had made 
him a general when in appearance yet a boy, though this 
was never disclosed by any allusion of his own. To those 
of tis who have only known the "canker of a long peace" 
the reputation of success in war invests its possessors with 
a glamour to which their perils well entitle them, and 
■which, I trust, may never be diminished. The fact that at 
26 he had fought his way to the head of a brigade gave 
authority to his opinions. Indeed, there was ever about 
him a flavor of that blunt directness which we associate 
with the resolute soldier. And if he had nut the poetic, 
quivering imagination wliicli soars into the highest flights 
of eloquence, he was free from the feverish and variable 
judgment of the poet; if he lacked the profotind and all- 
embracing grasp of the philosopher, he had not his uncer- 
tainty and hesitation in action; if he was not gifted with 
genius, he was without its aberrations and eccentricities 
and mistakes. God gave him a noble heart and strong 



Address of Mr. Cillctt. 6i 

talents, whicli he did not Iiide in a nai:)kin, but so eiiij^loved 
tliem as to be more effectual and fruitful for himself and 
for liis country than endowments far more lavish. His 
useful career seems but the acting out of his manly nature, 
and well illustrates the classic admonition — 

To thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the 
day, thou cans't not then be false to any man. 

Mr. MoODV. Mr. Speaker, I move the adoption of the 
resolutions. 

The resolutions were adopted unanimously; and the 
House accordingly, as a mark of respect to the memory of 
]Mr. Cogswell (at 2 o'clock and 51 minutes p. m. ), ad- 
journed until Monday. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE, 

Jaxuary i6, 1896. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. 
W. J. Browning, its Chief Clerk, communicated to the Sen- 
ate the intelligence of the death of William Cogswell, 
late a member of the House from the State of Massachusetts, 
and transmitted the resolutions of the House thereon. 

The Presiding Officer. The Chair lays before the Sen- 
ate resolutions from the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

In the House of Representatives, 

January 16, j8g6. 

Resolved, That the House has lieard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. William Cogswell, late a Representative 
from the State of Massachusetts. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to his memory the House 
do now adjourn. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to 
the Senate. 

Mr. Ho.AR. ]\Ir. President, I ask for the immediate con- 
sideration of the resolutions which I send to the desk. 

The Presiding Officer. The resolutions submitted by 
the Senator from Massachusetts will be read. 
62 



Proceedings in the Senate. 63 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as foHows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow 
the communication of the death of Hon. Williaji Cogswell, 
late a Representative from the State of Massachusetts. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 
o'clock and 45 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
Monday, Januan,' 20, 1896, at X2 o'clock meridian. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 

February 6, 1897. 

The Presiding Officer (Mr. Hill in the chair). The 
hour of 3 o'clock havinqf arrived, the Chair lays before the 
Senate resolutions of the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Ix THE HorSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, April iS , iSg6. 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended 
that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of 
Hon. W'lLLiAJi Cogswell, late a Representative from the State 
of Massachusetts. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased, and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a 
di.stinguished public servant, the House, at the conclusion of 
these memorial proceedings, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk connnunicate these resolutions to 
the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be instructed to communicate a copy 
of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

Mr. Lodge. I submit the resolutions which I send to the 
desk. 

The resolutions were read, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow 
the announcement of the death of Hon. William Cogswell, 
late a Representative from the State of Ma.ssachusetts. 

Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended 
in order that fitting tribute may be paid to his memory. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted by 
the Secretary of the Senate to the family of the deceased; and 
that as a further mark of respect the Senate will, at the conclu- 
sion of these ceremonies, stand adjourned. 

The Presiding Officer. The resolutions are before the 

Senate. 

II. Doc. 332 5 65 



66 Life and Cliaracter of W'illia)!! Cogszvcll. 



Address of Mr. Hoar. 

Mr. Hoar. Mr. President, Gen. \Villi.\m Cogswell, 
member-elect from the old Essex district of Massachusetts, 
one of the bravest and ablest soldiers she ever .sent into 
battle, a statesman who had been gaining and growing in 
a large national fame for four terms in the House of Repre- 
.sentatives, until it had been expected that by the general 
desire of the House he would have been assigned the place 
which carries with it the leadership of that bod}- on the 
floor, died in Washington May 22, 1895. He rai.sed and 
commanded one of the first companies — he thought the 
very first — enlisted in the country for the war. He was in 
many battles, was with Sherman in the march to the sea, 
was three times wounded, and came lujuie a general when 
the war ended. He was lieloved In- his .soldiers, and had 
the confidence and affection of General vSherman. 

The detail of this brilliant .service, as of the lesser but 
important work which he did for his native Commonwealth 
in m:un- other Iion<:)rabIe places of trust, have been stated 
in the other House, especialh- in the admirable eulogy by 
his successor. Those proceedings will be jirinted with 
ours. So I need not repeat them here. 

Mr. President, what I have said alreadx- would seem to 
be enough. To have been lo\-ed and trusted b)- as noble a 
constituency as e\-er made a ])art of a free people ; to have 
been of the very first and of the very last in the great 
struggle for the country's life; to have gained a foremost 
place in that great A.ssembly which now as ever represents 



Address of Mr. Hoar. 67 

what is best and most trustworthy' in American character ; 
to have steadily grown in power and in honor nntil the boy 
who offered his lite for his cinuitr\- at 22 was borne to his 
grave amid tlie lamentations of a whole people wlio hon- 
ored him as one of the foremost among the statesmen of 
America in America's best and greatest da\', wonld seem to 
make the langnage of ordinary' enlogy alike ridicnlons and 
snperflnous. 

One or two traits I will speak of for which ]\Ir. C(>(;s- 
WELL was specially remarkable: He was an example of 
what we so often find to be true, that the bravest men are 
the gentlest and most affectionate in their own households. 
He was a lover of home, of wife, of family, of children. 
The men who loved him best, where everybody knew him, 
were his near neighbors, and his townsmen, and the people 
of his district. 

He was a man who grew constantly. The faults which 
he had when his public service began wore off and dis- 
appeared with life's discipline and experience. His intel- 
lectual powers de\-eloped and strengthened from year to 
year; so you could almost see the difference from year 
to year in the quality of his work and speech. When he 
entered the House of Representatives he was an able man. 
When he died, six years after, he was a great man. He 
had laid aside weaknesses and infirmities; he had burst 
and outgrown limitations; he had put under his feet faults 
and bad habits; so that if his life had been spared we 
should have looked upon him as one of our brightest and 
most shining models of what is excellent l)oth in public 
and in private character. I think in these da\-s, when 
there is so much well-founded and so much ill-founded 



68 Life and Character of IVilliatn Cogswell. 

criticism of the public life in this country, that it is well 
to point out to the people what an intellectual and what a 
moral education is service in these Halls for the men, and 
they are the large majority, who perform that public service 
faithfully to the best of their ability. 

I believe I have been longer in continuous national legis- 
lative service in this country than an\- other man, with the 
single exception of my honored and venerable friend the 
senior Senator from Vermont. I declare as the result of 
my observation that the character of our national legis- 
lators is, on the whole, growing better from \ear to year 
and from generation to generation. Life in Washington is 
becoming purer and sweeter and simpler. 

General Cogswell grew in the confidence and esteem of 
his constituency. He was nominated by a majority of i 
and elected by a plurality only, being in a minority of near 
1,400 of the total vote. At his last election he was nom- 
inated by acclamation and chosen by a majority in his 
district of 8,600 over all competitors, having a majority 
in ever\- town, city, and ward in his entire district. He 
grew also, as I have .said, in the love and afifection of his 
associates. 

He was as brave a man as ever went into battle. When 
his commandintj officer had iriven him an order there was 
no occasion for any further an.xiety if the order was one 
which coidd be executed by human courage and skill. The 
men under his command felt sure that he would lead them 
in the path of glor\- and, if an\- man could lead them in 
that path, in the path to victory. 

He was a stanch friend, a trusty companion, and a wise 
counselor ; a dauntless and unflinching champion of any 



Address of Mr. Hoar. 69 

cause in which lie enlisted. If I were to sum up his qual- 
ity by a single word, it would be the word manliness. 

■General CoGSWELi, had some very original and racy 
qualities of intellect and character. They were disclosed 
to his friends and companions more freely as he grew older. 
He was a man who mellowed with years. But \-et his 
peculiarities remained. He had a certain gruff independ- 
ence and originality which made every man like to 
know what he was thinking of and to listen to what he 
would say. He had a gift of pithy, sententious speech, a 
shrewd common sense, and sharp wit. He was a man whom 
Dr. Johnson would have liked for a companion. While he 
grew kindlier as he grew older, and was tolerant of human 
infirmities and liked men when he came to know them well, 
he was a good hater, and was especially impatient of cant 
and affectation and pomposity and the varnish and veneering 
of behavior. 

Mr. President, my words of praise will seem feeble to 
those who have heard or who shall read the eloquent tributes 
of my colleagues in this and the other House. They will 
seem poor and inadequate as an expression of the feeling of 
the Commonwealth for the brave son she has lost and of the 
great constituency who mourn for their lo\-ed and honored 
Representati\'e. He sleeps in her holy Pilgrim soil with the 
great men who for nearly three htmdred years have adorned 
her annals. Massachtisetts has given to the service of the 
country her full share of patriots, of benefactors, of states- 
men, of orators, of poets, and of sages. It is no time for 
boasting when we are mourning for our dead. Certainh' I 
wotild arrogate for ^Massachusetts no superioritv of merit, 
especially in the presence of the representatives of the great 



70 Life and CharactiT of M'illiam Cogswell. 

Coiniiiomvealtli of \'irgiuia. And still it almost seems as 
if we might say of the little vState what one of her poets 
said of onr mother England — 

(Jne-half of her soil has walked the rest, 
In heroes, martyrs, sages. 

To that honorable company William Cogswell is 
gathered. The men who loved him and whom he loved 
have laid him to sleep within the limits of old Esse.x, where 
Winthrop landed, where Endicott dwelt, where Putnam 
was born, where Whittier sang, where Dane and Cntler 
planned the great ordinance of 1787, which stands with the 
Declaration and the Constitution as one of three great title 
deeds of American liberty, and where the sailors put to sea 
for the great sea fights of the war of 181 2. 

General Cog.swell's ser\-ices in ci\'il life alone would 
have given him a high place in the grateful memory of the 
people. But it is as a soldier that his countrymen will 
remember him, and it is as a soldier that he would wish to 
be remembered. Whatever may be said by the philosopher, 
the moralist, or the preacher, the instincts of the greater 
portion of mankind still lead them to award the highest 
meed of admiration to the militarx- character. Even when 
the most selfish of human passions — the love of power, or 
the love of fame — is the stimulant of the .soldier's career, 
he must at least be read\- for the supreme sacrifice — the 
willingness to give his life, if need be, for the object 
he is ]Mirsuing. The great apostle of the (lentiles in his 
loftiest passages illustrates the highest Christian character 
by comparing it to that of the soldier. And surely, when 
the end is unselfish, when the love of country or the desire 
to sa\'e her life by giving his own has entire master\- of the 



Adiircss of Mr. Hoar. 71 

soul, when all the ends he aims at are his country's, his 
God's, and truth's, all mankind are agreed to award to the 
good soldier a glory which it bestows nowhere else. 

Mr. President, more than the full allotted time of a gen- 
eration has jjassed since the splendid youth of 1S61 sprang 
at the call of their country to the defense of Washington. 
Men have reached mature middle life who were born since 
the sound was heard of the first shot at Fort Sumter. The 
great majority of the soldiers of the great war for the Union 
have gone. Their eyes will never again flash with triumph 
as they follow the flag to victory, or kindle with affection 
when they gaze on comrades' faces. Their ears are cold in 
death — 

They list no more the tuck of drum. 
No more the trumpet hear. 

They will never again answer to the general's summons, 
to the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. They 
sleep with the great leaders— with Grant, and Sherman, 
and Sheridan, with Deveus, and Hooker, and Shaw. 

The majority have gone. The few survivors who remain 
with us are entering upon an honored old age, crowned 
with the love of their countrymen. But their fame and 
honor shall abide. It shall abide when the walls of this 
Capitol shall have crumbled, eternal and imperishable as 
the libert\' the\' lo\-ed and the Union the^• saved. 



72 Lifr a!i({ Character of WillicDii Cogstvcll. 



Address of Mr. Mills. 

Mr. A[rLi..s. ;\Ir. President, I knew William Cogswell 
as a meinljer of the House of Representatives, where it was 
ni\' lortune to ser\'e with liini several vears. He was a een- 
tleman of tlie highest character, modest and retiring in his 
disposition, and kind and courteous in his intercourse with 
his fellows. While he was well informed on all the subjects 
which come before Congress for consideration, he \-ery 
rarely took part in the debates of that body. He was not a 
ready debater. He shrank from the arena. He had no taste 
for the controversial part of the consideration of subjects. 
He left that for others who were better adapted to it and 
whose tastes inclined them to share in the intellectual com- 
bat. He had his convictions, the result of intelligent con- 
sideration, and by them his conduct was controlled. 

It takes nothing from the character of Mr. CoG.swKLL to 
sa\- that he was not a skilled and ready debater. This is 
not a faculty which can be acquired by labor, however 
intense and long continued. It is a gift of the Creator, and 
one that does not always accompany the mind of man, how- 
ever largel\' it may be stored with knowledge. Its absence 
docs not mean that character is wanting in moral force, or 
that intelligence is destitute of usefulness. Every day's 
experience j)roves to the contrary. Main' of the greatest 
Statesmen whom thi'< countrv has ever produced were con- 
spicuously deficient in the power of debate. The author of 
the Declaration nf Independence immortalized himself with 
his pen. Xo man of his day posses.sed such power to arouse 



Address of Mr. Mills. 73 

the world througli the point of his pen as he. Yet when 
that great instrument was assailed in the Continental Con- 
gress by men whose names did not outlive their generation, 
he was utterly powerless to defend it. Benjamin Franklin 
was confessedly one of the greatest philosophers of the 
Revolutionary era and a very accomplished diplomat; but 
he could not debate a proposition like Hamilton or Adams, 
nor was he a match for men below them in the gifts of 
debate. Andrew Jackson was strong with the pen and still 
stronger with the sword, and notwithstanding the fact that 
he was a trained lawyer and of ability enough to grace the 
supreme bench of his State, to represent her in the Senate 
of the United States, and to preside over the destinies of the 
nation, yet he could not debate. When he was in the Sen- 
ate of the United States, during the Administration of the 
elder Adams, the \'ice-President who presided over that 
body, and who was conscious enough of his own deficiency 
in that respect, formed a very unfavorable opinion of the 
man who, in after years, proved himself the great general, 
and as President of the United States so indelibly stamped 
his opinions on public questions on the minds of the people 
of the Republic. 

To know Mr. Cogswell, one had to be in close contact 
with him socially. In the committee room or in the aban- 
don of social conversation at the fireside he showed himself 
the man of intelligence and thought. He could not l)e 
drawn into a heated controversy about anything. His whole 
nature was averse to it. He was not born for storm, but 
for sunshine. He was affable, gentle, and kind. His con- 
victions and conduct were the product of reason, not of 
passion. In his intercourse with his fellows he sought to 



74 L'fi' i-T-iid Character of William Cogsiccll. 

do rig;lit to them and to deserve right from them, and when 
he finished liis career I do not suppose lie left an enemy on 
the earth. His was, indeed, a massive, a splendid char- 
acter. It stood cut like a monumental stone, not adorned 
by fretted work, but plain, clean, powerful, and ponderous 
as it rested on its imperturbable base. Everywhere in the 
world of humanity character stands for a certain quantit\' 
of force — a force that is not percejitible to the sight or tan- 
gible to the touch. l!ut it is a force nevertheless. It exists 
and exerts itself beyond the sphere of sensuous cognition. 
The elements in the character of an upright man impress 
themselves upon the moral and intellectual world just as 
light, heat, and moisture do upon the material world. 
They are among the silent forces which ([uicken with life 
the latent germs and cause them to grow and mature and 
bring forth their harvests in their season. 

Stich was the character of the distinguished son of ]ilas- 
sachusetts around whose bier we are gathered to-day. I 
have spoken of him as he appeared to me, the representative 
of his people in the councils of the nation. lUit there was 
another theater where he appeared as an actor in the earlier 
days of his life. He was his country's soldier in a great 
war where hundreds of thousands gave their lives for the 
land thev loved. To one who has borne arms in such a 
war, who has seen and felt all which that one word means, 
it would be more acceptable that almost all the other virtues 
he possessed should be forgotten than that crowning virtue 
of true manhood. He was a brave soldier, an intelligent 
officer and leader, tried on many fields and measuring up 
to the duties of every station which he was appointed to 
fill. His record as a soldier gave Massachu.setts just cause 



Address of Mr. Mills. 75 

to be proud of him, and imposes upon her the duty of 
cherishing his memor\' and carving his name in the list of 
those wlio in peace and war have made her name immortal. 
In the conflict of which I have spoken he and I were 
on opposite sides. Each fought for the cause he loved. 
Each fought with those among whom he was born — he for 
]\Iassachusetts and I for Texas. For four long and troubled 
}-ears our armies were striking at each other's lives and the 
lives of the governments whose standards they bore. The 
arbitrament of the sword declared the United States victor 
and the Confederate States \-auquished — that the Union of 
the States should be an indissoluble union; and that each 
citizen should be a member of the great commonwealth of 
States as it was established by a common ancestry. The 
wise counsels that dominated the policy of the conquerors 
soon restored fraternity, and a union of "hearts and hands" 
as well as of "lakes and lands." Soon Union and Confed- 
erate soldiers met and mingled in the national councils, 
and soon the estranged people were brought together and 
mingled in peace and patriotic devotion in all the relations 
of private life. Having by the consent of our people been 
sent to the House of Representatives, we met here as 
friends, not as foes, and began our labors for the advance- 
ment of our country, each in the way he thought wisest and 
best. .\s intimately as I knew him, I never heard him 
speak of his military career until I met him one evening 
at a lecture delivered on the battle of Missionary Ridge, 
which was some years after he had been elected to Congress. 
When the lecture was over some questions were asked about 
certain commands that took part in the battle, and during 
the colloquN' I learned that we had been confronting each 



j6 Life and Chai-acicr of IVilliam Cogszccll. 

other from Chattanooga to Atlanta. That campaign has 
gone into history, and those who shared in it are rapidly 
passing away. Most of them, like Mr. Cogswell, have 
stacked arms on this side tlie river, and have crossed over 
and are now "resting under the shade of tlie trees." Those 
of us whom the roster has designated for duty with the rear 
guard are still on the march, and soon shall reach the ren- 
dezvous on the farther bank of the shining river, where 
the blue jacket and the gra}- are both faded into white, 
and where Grant and Lee, and Jackson and Sheridan, and 
Thomas and Hood, and Burnside and Johnston, and the 
thousands whom they led, are standing round the same 
bivouac fires, citizens of the same great commonwealth 
and soldiers in the armies of the Prince of Peace. 



Address of Mr. Haivley. 77 



Address of Mr. Hawley. 

Mr. Hawlev. Mr. President, I am glad to give my 
testimony to the excellencies of William Cogswell. 
The addresses made in the other House and the one made 
b}- the senior Senator from Massachusetts, however, leave 
verj' little to be said by anyone. There are some bare 
facts, and the facts that I venture to mention of his life 
alone are a sufEcient eulogy. 

His descent was that which we in New England think is 
honorable. From a Puritan who landed in a shipwreck on 
the coast of Maine in 1635, in the fifth generation that 
family illustrated the character of the people who had a 
belief, recognized a duty, and never flinched from it. Eight 
brothers of the Cogswell name were in the Revolutionary 
war, their aggregate service counting thirty -eight years. 
We may judge from that where the young man was likely 
to go when the long roll sounded. He enlisted as soon as 
he heard of the trouble of a Massachusetts regiment in the 
streets of Baltimore. 

He was a gentleman of education, and had entered upon 
a professional life, but he dropped everything. He enlisted 
April 19, 1861. He became a captain of the Second 
Massachusetts Infantry on the 25th of May. We may be 
assisted in estimating the character of the man b}' looking 
at the history of his regiment. At Cedar Mountain it lost 
35 per cent of its force; at Antietam, 25 per cent; at Chan- 
cellorsville, "i^^t P^'^ c&vA of those who were in action; at 
Gettysburg, 44 per cent of all who entered into that great 
battle. During the war that regiment on its rolls bore the 



78 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 

names of 843 soldiers killed, injured, and disabled in action 
or bv accident or disease. 

On the 25th of September, 1862, he was detailed to duty 
as a major. He was made lieutenant-colonel shortly after- 
wards, on the 23d of October. He became a colonel of his 
regiment in June, 1S63, at the age of 24. His regiment 
reenlisted in December, 1863, becoming the Second Regi- 
ment of Massachusetts \'eteran A'olunteers. During the 
furlough of thirty days to which they became entitled, he 
took the remnant of the regiment to Massachusetts. Of 
the 1,046 who had left Boston tliirt\- months before, 222 
returned. When the}" were welcomed b\- Governor Andrew, 
Mr. Cogswell felicitously replied: 

When I say to your excellency that these men, with the expe- 
rience they ha\-e had, with the hardships, sufferings, and dangers 
that they have seen and dared, have reenlisted, I have said 
enough for a lifetime in their praise. 

He was in the famous Atlanta campaign. He was put in 
command of Atlanta for a time, and to this day he is remem- 
bered with kindliness and respect in that region. 

In April, 1S65, when Sherman was about closing his great 
campaign, ]\Ir. COGSWELL was wounded at Averysboro, 
X. C. The second day after that he was again wounded, 
the third wound he received in the war. The last two, 
though more or less painful, did not keep him from contin- 
uing on duty. 

In ci\-il life he was adequate to every task imposed u])on 
him, and the good will of his constituency is shown by the 
fact that, coming from the war, he was three times elected 
mayor; he was once a senator of liis State; he was five 
times a representati\e in the Massachusetts assembly; he 



Address of Mr. Hawley. yg 

was fi\-e times elected to Congress, and had his life not 
been cut off untimely he would probably have continued 
in the public service, even to a great old age. He was 
elected, as has been stated, to the present Congress by a 
majority of over 8,000, but the plurality was 10,000. 

While "Sir. Cogswell was a stanch Republican and com- 
manded the respect of everybody having a creed and living 
up to it, he was a generous friend of his Southern brethren, 
as is shown by a short and eloquent speech that he deliv- 
ered in the House when Georgia was asking Federal aid for 
an exposition which she was about to hold. 

In the private relations of life he was without a fault. 
In public life he was a man of absolute integritv. He was 
diligent, faithful, honorable, lovable. He was emphatically 
a patriot, a soldier, and a gentleman. 

The tribute to his character paid by his colleagues in the 
two Houses of Congress from East, West, North, and vSouth 
abound in the strongest terms of respect, friendship, and 
sorrow. It was a very noble life. There never was a dutv 
that he did not full}' discharge. There never was a place 
which he did not fill with a fidelity and a capacitv more 
than satisfactory to his constituents and all others who 
knew him. 

The bare facts of his life, I say, are a sufficient eulogy. 
His fellow-citizens and neighbors of Washington remember 
him with more than affection. Massachusetts will honor 
him from generation to generation. 



8o Li/c and L 'liaractcr of II '////am Cogswe//. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. BLANCHARD. 

Mr. Blaxchard. .Mr. President, I esteemed William 
Cogswell too highh- to permit this occasion to pass with- 
out adding my own testimonial, however brief, to his worth 
as a man and liis value as a citizen. My acquaintance 
witii him was not a long one, but I knew him well. Tliis 
acquaintanceship with him began when he entered the 
House of Representatives of the Congress of the United 
States. I served with him as a member of the House of 
the Fiftieth, Fifty-first, Fifty-.second, and Fifty-third Con- 
gresses, and during the two \'ears of the Fiftieth Congress he 
was associated with me in membership upon the Committee 
on Rivers and Harbors of that bod\-. This association led 
to close acquaintanceship; aye, to more than tha!;, to good 
will, high esteem, and a friendship which existed up to the 
time of his death. 

Mr. Cogswell was a high type of a man. His disposi- 
tion was genial, his manner and address courteous and 
attractive, his presence magnetic. The qualities of his 
heart indicated the broad-minded, liberal, ])hilanthropic, 
svmixilhetic man; while the qualities of his mind denoted 
high capacity, the constituent parts of which are discern- 
ment, clearness of intellectual vision, anahtical power, and 
strength of grasp of a- question. In the consideration of 
questions that came before him for decision or action he 
was at once fair and just, accurate and able. 

Mr. President, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has 
been represented in the two Houses of Congress by many 
sons who have honored her trust and shed luster upon her 
name. The great Webster stands out like an Eiffel Tower 



Address ofMr. lilaiichard. 8i 

or Washington IMonument in American history, while over 
the names of the Adamses, Winthrop, Rufus Choate, 
Charles Snniner, Edward Everett, and others, the student 
of American biography loves to linger. Some of her sons 
who figure in contemporaneous history are most worthy of 
honorable mention in this regard. 

But while pa}-ing this tribute to the statesmanship of 
the Bay State, it may be said with equal truth that not all 
of her public men have alwa\s been tolerant of judgment 
of the opinions and actions of other men. Too often ha\'e 
we seen the reverse. But this can not be said of him 
whose life and character form the theme which now occu- 
pies the attention of the Senate. Mr. Cogswell was a 
man whose opinions, while strong and forceful, were 
tempered with a just regard for and consideration of 
the opinions of others. He was tolerant of judgment. 
Bigotry had no place in his make-up or composition. He 
believed that good could come out, and does come out, of 
"every Nazareth " in the land, whether it be situated in 
the Xorthern or Southern, Eastern or Western portion of 
this great country of ours. His lieart was broad and 
catholic in its sentiment. It embraced the whole of this 
couutrv and included in a common brotherhood all who 
bore the insignia of his country's citizenship. 

A gallant soldier in the war between the States, who won 
rank in arms and distinction in the field, j\lr. Cogswell 
exemplified in his career after the war the truth of the 
maxim that " Peace hath her victories no less renowned 
than war." He won civic victories as great as those he 
had achieved as a soldier. He .served his State with dis- 
tinction in both houses of her legislature, and as one of 
her Representatives in Congress he occupied an enviable 
position among the legislators of his time. 
H. Doc. 332 6 



Life and Character of William Cogswell. 



Address of Mr. Gallinger. 

Mr. Gallinger. Mr. President, on occasions like this 
we are forcibly reminded of the fact that — 

Man'.s home is in the grave ! 
Here dwells the iimltitiule. 

Death is an inseparable condition of life — inexorable and 
snre. It has been said that there is nothing so nionientons, 
so iiuininent, so certain, so nniversal. "It is appointed 
unto men once to die." There is no exemption, no re- 
prieve, for "dust to dust" was the sentence pronounced on 
all humanit>'. 

Earth to earth, and clust to dust! 
Here the evil and the just, 
Here the youthful and the old. 
Here the fearful and the bold, 
Here the matron and the maid, 
In one silent bed are laid ; 
Here the vassal and the king 
Side by side lie withering; 
Here the sword and scepter rust — 
Earth to earth, and dust to dust ! 

We are here to-day to speak loving words of eulogy to 
the memory of a friend and associate. WiLLlAM COGSWELL 
impressed me as a man of broad sympathies, profound con- 
victions, and generous impulses. He was genial, kind, 
companionable, and sincere. Brave and fearless on the 
fiL-ld (.)f battle, he was iu ])ri\'ate life as gentle as a woman 
and as sweet as a child. If he ever did a mean thing, those 
of us who associated with him in the other House of Con- 
gress knew it not. He was a strong debater, a tireless 
worker, and an indomitable antagonist, but he was always 



Address of Mr. (.aniiio-cr. 83 

a fair and open opponent. The idol of his city and his 
district, he enjoyed in the Honse of Representatives the 
distinction of being one of the most popnlar men of that 
bod\-. On leading committees and charged with grave 
dnties, he was always equal to the requirements of the 
position, acquitting himself with distinguished ability and 
with an integrity and fidelity questioned b\- none. His 
record is one of conspicuous merit, without a spot or 
blemish to mar its symmetry or cloud its horizon. 

Mr. CoG.swELL was withal a man of intense earnestness. 
How well I remember him at the Republican national con- 
vention of 1892, in the city of Minneapolis. In the contest 
before that convention he differed from some of us, but no 
arguments or entreaties moved him in the least. Early and 
late he sought the accomplishment of his purpose, and when 
finally the candidate of his choice was nominated, he re- 
sumed his wonted composure, as though nothing unusual 
had engaged his attention. He had made a great fight and 
bad won a conspicuous victory, but in the moment of tri- 
umph humility rather than pride possessed him. That was 
like the man. An earnest opponent, but never a bitter or 
revengeful antagonist. 

Others have told the stor)- of Mr. COGSWELL'S career as 
soldier, civilian, and legislator. That I need not repeat. 
It is sufficient for me to recall him as a friend and an asso- 
ciate in the .service of the Government. I knew him well, 
and to know him well was to admire and love him. Large- 
hearted, generous, and sympathetic, his companionship was 
an inspiration and his friendship a benediction. Through 
all the weary months of his sickness and suffering my heart 
went out to him in sympath\- and affection. At last death 



84 Life and Character of William Cogswell. 

came as a respite, and the soul of this great and good man 
took its flight to the abode of the blessed, where suffering, 
sorrow, and death are unknown. 

He passed away gently and quietly, and joined the ma- 
jority on the shores of the Great Beyond. 

But wh\- should we mourn for our departed friend; for is 
not death a necessary result, to be welcomed rather than 
repelled after the strifes and toils and struggles of a busy 
and eventful life? Let us, as we contemplate death, adopt 
the words of Addison: 

When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of 
envy dies in me; when I read the epitaphs of the beautiful, 
ever>' inordinate desire goes out ; when I meet with the grief of 
parents upon a tombstone, my heart melts with compassion ; 
when I see the tomb of the parents themselves, I consider the 
vanity of grieving for those whom we must quickly follow ; 
when I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when I con- 
sider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided 
the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with sorrow 
and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and de- 
bates of mankind ; when I read the several dates of the tombs, 
of some that died yesterday and some six hundred years ago, I 
consider that great day when we shall all of us be contempora- 
ries and make our appearance together. 

Mr. President, 1 bring to the memory of my friend a 
tender and loving tribute. The place he so well filled on 
earth is forever vacant, but I believe that his earnest spirit 
is enjoying the delights, the joys, and the labors of a better 
world than this. This belief reconciles one to death, and 
prepares our minds for the great change that awaits us all. 
On the grave of the distinguished dead I would plant sweet- 
est flowers, and in my heart of hearts cherish his memory 
in loving kindness and tenderest affection. A good man 



Address of Mr. (iallingcr. 85 

left the world when WiLLiA.\r COGSWELL died, and the 
world was the better becanse he lived in it. Let us, in 
appreciation of his virtues, emulate his example, and strive 
to so live that it can be said of us, when the end comes, 
that we left behind us a legacy of good deeds and of honor- 
able achievement. 



<S6 I.ifc ami Character of ]\'illia)ii Cogszvcll. 



Address of Mr. lodge. 

Mr. T^oncH. Mr. President, he who conies last in a field 
where so many eloquent speakers have reaped can onU- 
hope to <,flean among the already garnered sheaves. Com- 
ing from the same connty, a friend of many years, I can 
not, however, fail to express the affection I felt for the dis- 
tinguished man to whose memory we do honor to-day To 
that memor\' I wish to pay my tribute and recall once more 
the deeds and honors of a distinguished life. 

William Cogswell was born at Bradford, Mass., on the 
23d of August, 1S38. The familv were of English origin 
and came to this country in 1635. Famih- history records 
that John Cogswell, the first of the name in the New World, 
was wrecked with his wife and eight children on the Maine 
coast. Notwithstanding this disastrous termination of a 
perilous vo\'age, the famil\' foinid their way to the town of 
Ipswich, in Essex County, Mass., and there settled. WiL- 
Li.^M Cogswell was the seventh in descent from John 
Cogswell, the original Puritan settler. The family ajjpears 
to have been a prominent one in England, where they owned 
and conducted woolen mills through successive generations ; 
and the American branch soon made themselves felt in the 
neighborhood in which they dwelt. The grandfather of 
]\Ir. Cogswell rose to be chief medical officer in the Con- 
tinental Army, and seven of his brothers likewise .served 
their countr\- in wirious capacities in the war of the Revolu- 
tion. Dr. George Cogswell, the father of William Cogs- 
well, is a well-known man, and was one of the founders 
of the Republican party. In i860 he was a delegate to the 



Address of Mr. f.odgc. 87 

coiuention wliich nominated Abraham Lincoln. His life 
has been a long- and eminentl_\' nseful one, and he is still 
livinij, at an advanced age, at the family home in Bradford. 
His wife, who was a Miss Abigail Parker, died when her 
son was only abont 7 years of age. 

Mr. Cogswkll's earl\- edncation was secured at various 
academics in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He was 
a pupil of Atkinson Academy, Atkinson, X. H. ; Phillips 
Academy, Andover, Mass., and Kimball's Union Academy, 
Meriden, N. H. In 1855 he entered Dartmouth College. 
His collegiate training, however, was brief, and in 1S56 
and 1S57 he became a sailor before the mast, visiting 
in this wa}' many of the principal ports of the world. 
Returning to his native State, he entered the Harvard Law 
School for a course of study, and on September 8, i860, was 
admitted to practice at the Essex County bar. His first 
legal experience was obtained in the office of William D. 
Northend who is an eminent lawyer, and a little later, in 
April, 1861 he opened an office for himself. Mr. Cogswell 
was at this time 22 years of age, and the exciting events of 
that period were little calculated to hold the young lawyer 
at his desk. The drudgery of professional toil would hardly 
commend itself to a man who came of a race of soldiers 
when the land was filled with rumors of war. Durine the 
winter which preceded the inauguration of Lincoln he 
enlisted in a local militia organization and entered with 
enthusiasm upon the performance of his military duties. 
In a statement which he left can be found an accurate and 
a concise liistory of the brilliant military career of which 
this enlistment in a militia company was the beginning. 
The attack of the mob on the Sixth Massachusetts in the 



88 Life and Character of ll'illiam Cogswell. 

streets of Baltimore roused the heart and conscience of the 
loyal North. Within twenty-four hours from the time when 
the news first reached Salem, young Cogswell had recruited 
a full company of lOO men. His office was turned into a 
recruiting station, and it is worthy of remark that so suc- 
cessful was the work of enlistment that the company was, 
if not the first, one of the very first raised in the country 
for the war. The work of organization went on rapidly, 
and in the Ma>- following Captain Cogswell's company 
became Compan\- C of Gordon's famous Second Massa- 
chusetts. 

On an occasion like this it is impossible to do more than 
allude briefly to some of the leading incidents of a militar>- 
career filled with deeds of conspicuous gallantry. In the 
winter and spring of 1861-62 Mr. COGSWELL was attached 
to Banks's command in the vShenandoah Valley, and on 
several occasions opposed an effectual resistance to Jack- 
son's operations in that region. After the battle of An- 
tietam, where his company and regiment were engaged all 
day with signal success, Mr. Cogswell was promoted to be 
lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. In this battle he was 
slightly wounded, but he (juickly recovered sufficiently to 
be able to lead an expedition under the cover of darkness 
across the river into Virginia, which ended in the capture 
of a band of guerrillas and in the death of their notorious 
captain, Rurk. Mr. CoGSWELL participated at the head of 
his regiment in the bloody conflict at Chancellorsville. On 
the second day of the engagement he was wounded severely 
in the left arm. This obliged him to retire from the field 
of battle, and he was unable to rejoin his regiment until 
after the battle of Gettysburg. In the following month of 



Address of Mr. Lodge. 89 

June he was made colonel of the regiment, being at that 
time but 24 \ears of age. His next conspicuous service 
was in connection with the draft riots in New York City. 
The discharge of this duty called for unusual coolness and 
discretion, but Mr. CoG.swELL proved equal to the emer- 
gency. When comparative quiet had been restored, the 
regiment rejoined the Arm\- of the Potomac, and a little 
later became a part of the Arm\- of the Cumberland. His 
most conspicuous ser\'ice, however, was probably rendered 
before Atlanta. He was actively engaged in- the campaign 
which resulted in the evacuation of Atlanta, and was men- 
tioned for distinguished conduct at the battle of Resaca. 
When Shennan entered the city, on September 3, 1864, one 
of his first acts was to make Colonel Cogswell post com- 
mander, a position which he held until the 17th of Novem- 
ber, when the Union Army began its famous march to the 
sea. It is worth remembrance here that when, thirty years 
later, the people of Georgia were asking for national aid 
for the Atlanta Exposition, they found no more effective 
advocate than the former military commander of Atlanta, 
then serving his native State with distinction in the halls 
of Congress. Both in the Appropriations Committee, of 
which he was a member, and on the floor of the House, Mr. 
Cogswell did zealous service for the city which he left a 
heap of smoldering ruins in November, 1864. Shortly 
after the fall of Atlanta, on December 12, 1S64, Mr. Cogs- 
well was brevetted brigadier-general, and just a month 
later was assigned to the command of the Third Division 
of the Twentieth Army Corps. This command he con- 
tinued to hold until he was mustered out of the service in 
July, 1865. In one of the last engagements of the war, at 



90 Life and Cliaractcr of IVilliaiii Cogswell. 

the battle of Averysboro, in April, 1865, IMr. Cogswell 
was wounded for the' third time. The injury did not prove 
serious, however, but the one received at Chancellorsville 
conlinucd to harass hiui to tht- end of his life. 

With the close of the war Mr. CocswKLi. returned to 
Salem and to the practice of the law. Two years later he 
was elected ina\'or of Salem, and served three years in that 
capacity. In 1.S73 and 1874 he was again mayor. From 
the time he was first summoned to public office he never 
for a moment forfeited the confidence of his adoj^ted citv. 
Five times he represented it in the Massachusetts house of 
representatives, and during the years 1885-86 was State 
senator. In 1876 he was made inspector-general of fish for 
the State of ^lassachusetts, a post he continued to enjoy 
until he was elected to the Fiftieth Congress in 1886 from 
the old Esse.x district. He was reelected to the Fifty-first, 
Fifty-.second, Fifty-third, and Fifty-fourth Congresses. His 
committee assignments were varied and iniDortant. He 
served, among others, on Appropriations, Rivers and Har- 
bors, and the District of Columbia. His work on Appro- 
priations and Rivers and Harbors was most exacting, but 
he discharged it with unusual abilit)' and fidelit>-. 

In the fall of 1894 he was selected by the Republican 
State committee to preside over the convention of that 
year. His speech had lieen jjrcpared and had been given 
out to tlie newspapers in accordance with custom. There 
had been no intimation of declining health, and the report, 
which was first given out on the morning of the conven- 
tion, that he could not preside over its deliberations, came, 
therefore, as a painful surprise to his friends and the public 
generally. His indisposition was at first thought to be but 



.iMrcss of Mr. Lodge. 91 

temporary, but it soon became evident as the campaign 
progressed that he was stricken with an incurable malady. 
In the November election his constituents rallied to pay 
him one last tribute of affection and regard. The plurality 
he received was the largest given any candidate for Con- 
gress in Massachusetts that year. When Congress con- 
vened for the short session in December he was unable to 
take his seat, but in a few weeks he insisted on coming on 
to Washington to resume his public duties. Attendance 
upon the sessions of the House, however, onlj^ aggravated 
his malady, and he soon afterwards journeyed southward to 
Jamaica, in a \-ain search for health. Rut the skill of phy- 
sicians and the loving and tender care of wife and friends 
were alike hopeless. He succeeded in getting as far as 
Washington on his return journey, and here, after linger- 
ing for a number of weeks, he died on the 22d of May, 1895. 
Such in bare cold outline are the incidents of an honor- 
able and distinguished life. Rut there is much more than 
this to be .said. He was not only a good soldier, who rose 
at a ver}- early age to a high command, but he was conspic- 
uous for personal gallantry. He had a warm and impetuous 
temperament that carried him to the front of battle in his 
vouth and which gave him the energy and the power which 
marked his career in later life. We speak of him here in 
the Capitol as the soldier and public man, and it is not fitting 
perhaps to go further. Yet to those of us who knew him 
well and whose affection he possessed, the qualities of mind 
and heart which made him beloved by his constituents and 
which endeared him to those nearest to him are very pres- 
ent. He was a loyal friend and a frank and open foe. He 
was warm hearted and affectionate, vigorous in speech, and 



92 Life and Character of William Cogsivell. 

full of .sympathy and humor. He had strong convictions 
and was always earnest in expressing them. He showed a 
strength of will and a power of self-control which com- 
manded the admiration of everyone who understood the 
manner in which he had displayed these fine and manh- 
(pialities. Those who were associated with him in Congress 
understood and appreciated his high value as a public ser\'- 
ant and grieved for his death because it was the loss of a 
companion and friend. The State wdiich he had repre- 
sented, the famous count\- and the old Puritan town whicli 
he had served so long, mourned with deep and genuine 
sorrow when he was brought back to his last resting place 
in the land where his people had lived for seven generations, 
and which he loved with all the strength of his heart. 

If we reckon length of life by the number of days, that 
of William Cogswell was short indeed, but if we take 
for otir measure the words of Stevenson that ' ' to the bold 
and the busy life is always long," then this life whose end 
we mourn to-day was far longer than that of manv which 
outrun the psalmist's span. It was filled with work which 
any man might have been proud of, with deeds which not 
only brought fame and honor to the doer, but which served 
country and vState in the day of battle and in the time of 
peace. What he did may have fallen short of what he 
desired to do, as is always the case with strong men of 
action. The outward rewards that he received, distin- 
guished as they were, ma\' well have seemed to him, as 
they certainly often did to others, not always to equal the 
deserts. Rut now that the book is closed and the last 
account made up, we can fairly say that he had, whatever 
else might have been lacking, the l)est of all rewards — the 



Address of Mr. Lodge. 93 

consciousness that he had plaved a man's part in tlie life of 
Ills time, and left a memory wliich his cliildren and his 
children's children \\\\\ reverence and cherish. He not 
only served with distinction in public life, performing with 
faithful diligence arduous duties, many of which brought 
no compensation except the knowledge of dutv done, but 
he also served his country on the great field of the civil 
war. In that mighty trial he had had his share. What an 
opportunity it was to men like Mr. CoGSVVELL, who tasted 
it to the full! With such a life as his in that war time, I 
always think of the splendid and familiar lines of Scott, in 
which we may find the secret of the great romancer's life 
and art: 

Sound, sound the clarion ! fill the fife ! 

To all the sensual world proclaim, 
One crowded hour of glorious life 

Is worth an age without a name. 

It was given to a man like :\Ir. CoG.SWKLL to be able to 
.say this, and I think we may well ask ourselves whether 
an\' man who can say it of himself truthfulh- has much 
need to desire more. 

The Presiding Officer. The question is on the adop- 
tion of the resolutions which have been read. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 
o'clock and 3 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
Monday, February 8, 1897, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



